Palliative Care

By Zenith Wolfe

When Logan Vaillant’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2022, Vaillant had less than a month to visit her before she passed.

He describes Marie-Anna Plouffe as the liveliest person he’s ever met; a woman who loved the outdoors, and who always did her best to help those around her. Vaillant has only good things to say about how Hôpital de Hull staff treated them, but he says restricted visitation hours and the small room made it harder to stay by her side. Shared bathrooms provided little privacy, there was no accessible kitchen and she was barely able to go outside.

If he had known about Wakefield’s palliative care home Maison des Collines, he says he would have admitted his mother there in her final weeks. 

“We receive people with prognostics of three months or less. They get in and say, ‘Well, I should have been here before,’ because they’re so comfortable, and family just gets to be with them,” he says.

Vaillant says that it was his mother’s death and philosophy on life that encouraged him to become the Maison’s executive director in October 2023. 

For the last 15 months, he’s kept a photo of his mother on his desk. But he’ll soon take that photo with him when he assumes a new role elsewhere: executive director of the aid society Bureau régional d’action sida (BRAS) Outaouais, working with people nearing homelessness or struggling with addiction, and survivors of abuse.

“Leaving is a very, very difficult decision, and I’m not leaving because of anything relating to the organization,” he says. “I’m following something that’s kind of a dream for me. But I’m a phone call away, so if the Maison needs some kind of information, I’ll always make myself available.”

During his time with Maison des Collines, Vaillant has helped bring more public awareness to the five-year-old care home, which has led to an increase in their volunteer team to around 60 people; up from 50 when he joined the team. He adds that they anticipate taking on 10 more volunteers by the end of January. 

Vaillant says he also improved their fundraising. In 2024, their golf tournament fundraiser brought in around $63,500, almost triple the revenue from 2023. Other campaigns improved to a smaller degree, he notes. 

They’re still not exceeding targets for the year, but Vaillant says they’re on the way to sustainability. The homes’ 2024 holiday campaign surpassed its goal of $50,000, as donors gifted more than $83,000 in December and January following the Low Down’s Dec. 18, 2024 feature article on its financial struggles. 

“We thank Dr. David Gold, who is our campaign chair this year, as well as everyone who’s donated so generously,” added Vaillant. “While $83,620 is an incredible testament of generosity from the community, we want to remind folks that we need over $500,000 per year to maintain our services. So, while the holiday campaign is an incredible success, we still have a ways to reach our yearly target.”

After he steps down from his post on Jan. 17, Vaillant says the Maison’s board will manage the executive director’s responsibilities and work on opening the application process to replace him. He says people interested in the position can contact board member Caryl Green.