La Maison de la Sérénité originated from a humanist movement that has inspired many similar undertakings in other regions of Québec and in Europe.
La Maison de la Sérénité is a place where:
• Individuals receiving end-of-life care in the company of their loved ones can live their final days with dignity and respect in a warm family environment.
• We acknowledge that everyone has an identity based on their origins, culture, education, values, beliefs, aspirations, and fears.
• The presence and support of loved ones or others who are significant to the patient are encouraged. Loved ones are considered members of the caregiving team, promoting quality of life and the journey toward the end of life.
• Mutual assistance and volunteerism are encouraged. The caregiving team and other resources working at La Maison share the same intervention philosophy and concern for involvement and support.
A majestic and peaceful location on the Rivière des Prairies.
La Maison's mandate implies managing a family-type home that can house patients requiring palliative care.
La Maison is an alternative between a hospital and the patient's home. In this place, people can live and spend their final days with dignity in the most possible comfort, surrounded by their loved ones, an interdisciplinary caregiving team, and people who can assist them.
Located on a majestic and peaceful site on the Rivière des Prairies, in Laval, La Maison de la Sérénité can accommodate 12 end-of-life patients.
Above all, La Maison provides:
Quality care without compromise
At La Maison, each patient is treated with respect and dignity. The care is all-encompassing and compassionate, as our staff strives to meet every individual's needs. Our caregiving team comprises physicians, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, P.A.B.s, social worker, and several volunteers. They all work together to provide the greatest possible well-being to the patient in their final days, alleviate their suffering, and support their loved ones.
The patient who wishes to be admitted at La Maison must inform the referring caregiving team member: physician, nurse, or social worker. That individual will fill out the documents required for the application and forward them to the Nursing Care Coordinator, Mrs. Caroline Soucy, of La Maison (soin.inf@msplaval.ca).
A quiet and welcoming environment
La Maison provides an environment conducive to tranquility and serenity. Each room has large windows facing the river so that end-of-life patients can find a haven of peace supported by the presence and reassurance of their loved ones. La Maison even hosted an emotional wedding ceremony between a patient and her spouse, thereby eternalizing their love for each other.
La Maison's emblem: the Ginkgo Biloba tree.
The Ginkgo biloba is genuinely a living fossil. Its ancestors could be found in forests of the Jurassic era, some 200 million years ago. Its leaves and seeds are used in phytotherapy and are astonishingly resistant to air pollution and insects. One ginkgo even survived the nuclear bomb in Hiroshima and all the climatic upheaval on the planet. Since then, the Japanese consider this tree to be a symbol of hope. It is also called "Arbre aux quarante écus".
Origin of the name
The name "Arbre aux quarante écus" comes from the fact that in 1780, a French botanist, named Pétigny, bought 5 ginkgo plants from an English botanist for the considerable sum of 200 pounds, i.e., 40 gold ecus.
So why did we choose this tree as our emblem? Because its leaves are in the shape of a heart (a symbol of love and hope), and because of its great longevity (it can live over a thousand years). Our first ginkgo biloba tree was planted on September 21, 2015, during the 5th anniversary celebrations of La Maison.
Our first ginkgo biloba tree was planted on September 21, 2015, during the 5th-anniversary celebrations of La Maison.
