The Gaspé Coast Palliative Care Home project was born from a shared desire within the community to offer compassionate, accessible and dignified end-of-life care in our region.
For several years, citizens, healthcare professionals and members of the community sector have been working toward a common goal: ensuring that people at the end of life can receive appropriate care in a warm, human-centered environment close to their loved ones.
The Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region is currently one of the few regions in Quebec without a palliative care home, despite an aging population and growing needs for end-of-life support.
The regional reality also highlights several important challenges. The proportion of people aged 65 and over in Gaspésie is already the highest among Quebec’s administrative regions, and this trend is expected to continue increasing over the coming decades.
The region also faces higher cancer prevalence and mortality rates than many other regions in Quebec, a reality that directly impacts the growing need for palliative and end-of-life care services.
En parallèle, les grandes distances, l’éloignement géographique et l’accès limité à certains services spécialisés représentent des défis bien réels pour de nombreuses familles de la Côte-de-Gaspé et du nord de Rocher-Percé.
The future Gaspé Coast Palliative Care Home aims to provide a setting that complements existing healthcare services through an approach focused on quality of life, respect for patients’ wishes and support for loved ones.
Since 2023, several meetings and initiatives have helped move the project forward in a concrete way. The Gaspé Coast Palliative Care Home organization was officially created in the fall of 2024, followed by its founding assembly and the establishment of a board of directors united around this shared vision.
The project is currently supported by several partners and community stakeholders, including the CISSS de la Gaspésie, the City of Gaspé, and various regional and community collaborators.
A public presentation of the project will also take place on June 17, 2026, in order to share more details about the vision, upcoming steps and community mobilization surrounding this regional initiative.