November 23, 2009 – The majority of the 55,000 people who die each year in Quebec have suffered from a long illness. And most of them die in hospital – by choice, but also out of spite: only 10% of patients who want to die at home manage to do so due to lack of resources.
It is to help these sick people who would like to die at home – and their families – that the Jacques-Bouchard Foundation1 was set up.
Jacques Bouchard was a pioneer of the advertising industry in Quebec. In addition to the many advertisements that we owe him, he was the author of a flagship book The 36 sensitive cords of Quebecers, first published in 1973 and then reissued in 2009.
Suffering from a fatal illness, Mr. Bouchard was able to live the last months of his life at home, surrounded by his family. This was in 2006. Following his death, his wife Caroline created the Jacques-Bouchard Foundation, a non-profit organization.
Its mission: to facilitate access to palliative care at home in order to allow terminally ill patients, adults or children, to end their days peacefully, surrounded by their loved ones.
Dying at home, the reflections of Jacques Languirand The communicator and radio host Jacques Languirand2, who was friends with Jacques Bouchard, is spokesperson for the Foundation. See the interview he gave to PasseportSanté.net in which he shares his thoughts on the experience of dying at home. |
In its quest, the Jacques-Bouchard Foundation promotes a multidisciplinary approach in achieving the following objectives:
- contribute to the well-being of terminally ill patients and that of their loved ones;
- providing material resources to patients, such as walkers, wheelchairs, hoists, etc .;
- provide psychological support to patients and their relatives;
- contribute to the general well-being of natural caregivers, before and after the patient’s death;
- train family and social assistants who will provide home care;
- support research in the field of palliative care.
See our file Supporting a loved one who is ill: What to say? What to do? |
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. For more information: www.fondationjacquesbouchard.com.
2. Jacques Languirand has hosted Radio-Canada’s radio program Par 4 ways for over 35 years. He tackles a multitude of subjects. Spirituality and ecology hold a privileged place there. For more information: www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/par_4_chemins. It also produces, with a team of collaborators, the website Les repères de Languirand: www.repere.tv [Consultés le 19 novembre 2009].