Aged care in Quebec is characterized by a humanistic and innovative approach. In April 2023, a delegation of 16 French medico-social professionals traveled to Montreal and Trois-Rivières to discover this innovative and stimulating environment.

The delegation began by spending two days immersed in the Maison Carpe Diem. This unique establishment was founded by Nicole Poirier in 1995. Welcoming 15 residents, this home is unique by its humanistic philosophy shared by all the caregivers, volunteers and families. The French professionals had the opportunity to discover the other side of the story and to exchange ideas with their Quebec colleagues for two days in order to rethink the support of people living with Alzheimer's disease.

The delegates then went to Montreal where several visits were organized. They were able to discover the organization of care trajectories for seniors at the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal. The SAPA Directorate (Service Offerings for the Support of Autonomy of the Elderly) includes the entire continuum of care, from prevention to home care, including acute geriatric services and specialized follow-up care and rehabilitation for the elderly. Belonging to the "CIUSSS du Centre Sud de l'Ile de Montréal", the SAPA division manages 2,670 public long-term care beds (CHSLD) for people with a very high level of loss of autonomy.

The delegates then met with the Association des établissements privés conventionnés (AEPC), which includes 57 long-term care facilities, including the Roy Santé Group's Saint-Georges residence, which they visited.

The last day of the program was devoted to home care with a meeting with the non-profit organization L'appui pour les proches aidants and with the Baluchon Alzheimer association. Finally, the delegates met with the Réseau de coopération EÉSAD (Entreprises d'économie sociale en aide à domicile), enterprises administered mainly by and for their users and operated on a not-for-profit basis, which provide more than 7 million hours of services to 100,000 users with loss of autonomy, including nearly one million hours of daily living services (ADL) and 6 million hours of home care services (HCA).

The delegates left the meeting excited about the quality of their exchanges with our Quebec colleagues and inspired to improve support for the elderly in France.