This year, Abitibi-Témiscamingue is receiving more than $108,000 to improve the care journey and overall health of children in the region.
Enfant Soleil helps more than 100 healthcare facilities across the province and provides invaluable support to the four major pediatric centres, which give specialized and sub-specialized care to any child who needs it.
Spotlight on a project promising beautiful things on the horizon
Maison de naissances et de la petite enfance des Grands Pins de Val-d’Or
Birth is one of life’s most precious experiences and it is an emotional moment for every family. Thanks to a $63,200 grant from Enfant Soleil, in collaboration with Santé Québec*, this birthing centre in Val-d'Or, the only one in the entire region, will be able to acquire essential equipment that will allow families to welcome their children close to home, surrounded by adapted care focused on well-being.
1 vital signs monitor and 1 resuscitation table
- Every birth is different and while most babies come into the world in perfect health, some need monitoring or medical care in their first moments of life. Thanks to the acquisition of a vital sign monitor and a resuscitation table, the birthing centre is now fully equipped for deliveries. This equipment ensures quick and safe patient management for immediate and adapted intervention.
1 bilirubinometer
- By quickly, gently and safely measuring the level of bilirubin in a baby’s blood, this tool can detect jaundice—which affects 60% of full-term newborns—during in-home postnatal follow-up visits. It keeps families from having to travel to be seen and ensures rapid management in a familiar and reassuring setting for both the parents and the baby.
*2025–2026 funding made possible through an agreement initiated with the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.
Helping grown-ups improve young lives
Essential support for the entire pediatric ecosystem
Discover other projects funded in the region
1 neonatal resuscitation cart
- This crash cart will help teams better organize their work and react more quickly in critical situations involving newborns.
2 neonatal resuscitation carts
- Essential in a life-threatening emergency, these carts ensure a rapid response and precise, safe and effective care thanks to optimal equipment organization.
3 vital sign monitors
- Healthcare staff will benefit from these high-performance devices that make it easier to continuously monitor pediatric patients’ vital signs for optimal and adapted management.
1 neonatal resuscitation cart
- A modern cart with well-organized, reliable and adapted equipment optimizes the speed and safety of critical interventions to save babies in distress.
1 pediatric pulse oximeter
- This tool makes it easier to measure blood oxygen levels in small patients, ensuring a reliable diagnosis and a better care experience for children.
1 pediatric defibrillator
- Every second counts when saving a child’s life. A defibrillator adapted to their size makes resuscitation safer and more efficient during cardiorespiratory arrest.
1 pediatric blood pressure monitor
- Designed for children’s smaller arms, this device allows for quicker diagnosis of hypertension and ensures reliable data transmission to specialists for optimal follow-up.
The Sustainable Sport and Health Fund aims to promote and support healthy lifestyle habits in children through sport, physical activity and healthy eating, as well as cultivating emotional and mental well-being. This fund will support two projects at the CISSS’ directorate of intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder and physical disability programs:
Sensory and regulatory devices
- Young people ages 9 to 17 living with an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder will be able to benefit from emotional regulation materials to calm themselves, as well as various sensory materials to develop their motor skills during intensive behavioural rehabilitation sessions.
Bicycling equipment
- Learning to ride a bike is a childhood rite of passage. However, some children need specialized support to develop their balance and coordination. Thanks to adapted helmets and bicycles, children undergoing rehabilitation will develop healthy lifestyle habits and be able to cycle safely, which will foster their social participation, confidence and well-being.
Zoé Chalifoux, Enfant Soleil for Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Zoé and her family are brilliant ambassadors who courageously share their story and reality.
Born full-term after a difficult delivery, Zoé needed respiratory assistance from birth, but fortunately, her condition stabilized. However, concerns persisted in the weeks that followed, leading Zoé to undergo genetic testing at CHU Sainte-Justine. She was three months old when she was diagnosed with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, a rare genetic disease that affects her growth and requires close monitoring. Since then, her daily life has involved a series of specialist appointments and several medical procedures. Despite all this, Zoé is growing up surrounded by her family and shows remarkable resilience. Joyful and determined, she progresses at her own pace and becomes more autonomous each day. “Every amount raised makes it possible to provide better care and acquire state-of-the-art equipment. Everywhere, at Sainte-Justine and in our region, we see the small logo of the organization that is helping us.”