$1.3 million donation for CHUM Burn Centre

    
           The Fondation du CHUM thanks the Quebec Firefighters
                      Foundation for Major Burn Victims
    

MONTREAL , Dec. 2 /CNW Telbec/ - Today the Fondation du CHUM unveiled a plaque that will be installed at the Centre des grands brûlés du CHUM (CHUM Burn Centre) to mark a significant contribution from the Quebec Firefighters Foundation for Major Burn Victims. Over the past ten years, the Firefighters Foundation has donated $1.3 million to support care and research to improve treatment and quality of life for serious burn victims.

Dr. Alexis Armour , a researcher, burn care plastic surgery specialist at the CHUM and director of the Centre d'expertise pour les personnes victimes de brûlures graves de l'ouest du Québec, spoke of the severity of the cases treated at the centre and the need for contributions from major donors. "Burns can be deadly, and the healing process can require very painful treatment," he said. "It is largely thanks to the donations and ongoing support of the Firefighters Foundation that the Centre has been able to continue our primary and clinical research, and achieve our ambitious goals for our patients."

Research

Eighty per cent of the Firefighters Foundation donations support research. The research projects deal with different areas of specialty, such as the clinical applications of cultivated skin, expanding knowledge of scar treatment, immunological changes after serious burns, and specific psychological treatment for burn survivors.

Care

Support from the Firefighters Foundation has also helped improve the level of care by meeting the urgent needs of the CHUM Burn Centre. For example, the Centre has been able to build an admissions room with the equipment needed to provide immediate care to patients on arrival, such as catheter installation, wound debridement and cardiac monitoring.

The Centre des grands brûlés du CHUM

Some 150 people are admitted every year to the CHUM Burn Centre which, as the designated centre for Western Quebec , serves 65% of the province's population. In partnership with Villa Medica and the Association Entraide Grands Brûlés, it was accredited as the centre of expertise for serious burn victims in Western Quebec in 2004 by the Health and Social Services Ministry. Residents studying plastic surgery, intensive care and anaesthesiology train at the centre, acquiring a practical, first-hand vision of the problems that arise for this kind of patient.

" Quebec firefighters regularly witness the ravages and suffering caused by fire," explained Claude Lebrun , board chair of the Quebec Firefighters Foundation for Major Burn Victims. "Our foundation is proud to do its part by supporting the work of the top specialists, like those we have met at the CHUM, who dedicate their lives to care and research for burn victims."

Gilles Dulude, board chair of the Fondation du CHUM, paid homage to the CHUM's longstanding partner: "Firefighters are frontline combatants on the ground, but above all you are the true emblem of commitment and loyalty to your communities. Because you support the clinical care and research work of the CHUM Burn Centre team, you provide a tremendous example of the type of leaders we need to push medical expertise even further in this area."

About the Fondation du CHUM

The mission of the Fondation du CHUM is to provide the CHUM with an ongoing source of private funds to complement public funding, in order to help it improve patient care, acquire cutting-edge equipment and carry out research, teaching and health promotion activities. To make a donation to the Fondation du CHUM, please visit fondationduchum.com or call 1 866 DON-CHUM (1 866 366-2486) or 514-890-8077, extension 35205. Giving... makes a world of difference!

Photos available on request.

For further information: Mariane Bouvette, [phone], ext. 33137, [email protected]; Source: Fondation du CHUM