$1.25 million donation for a health education program to be set up at CHUM

MONTREAL , Feb. 4 /CNW Telbec/ - The Fondation du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) has received a $1.25 million donation from Pfizer Canada for a patient health education program to be set up at CHUM. The hospital centre's health promotion department will use this money over the next few years to support the clinical settings in the development of patient health education interventions. Specifically, an intranet-type resource portal consisting of easy-to-understand information sheets will be created for use by the clinical staff in their interventions.

Inspired by the principles governing the health promoting hospitals network, a project of the World Health Organization (WHO), CHUM, which is part of this arrangement, wants to seize the opportunity provided by patients' and their families' visits at the hospital to promote a healthy lifestyle and provide health education. The information sheets will be created in collaboration with multidisciplinary clinical teams supported by a team of professionals that includes a health education advisor and evaluative research specialists. They will concern both screening and prevention, and diseases and their treatments. As support tools, they will provide patients with a better understanding of their disease and the factors that affect it, and will increase their ability to become actively involved in managing their health. "With the implementation of this new program, in which Pfizer Canada is the founding partner, CHUM is taking a further step toward instituting an integrated health approach toward its patients and visitors," says Dr. Michèle de Guise, cardiologist, CHUM's director of health promotion and the head of the Health Education Program.

"While our primary mission is to provide Canadians with essential and innovative medications, Pfizer Canada also recognizes that it takes more than medication to be healthy. Therefore, we believe it's crucial that we be involved in education and prevention programs that encourage people to adopt a healthy and balanced lifestyle, hence our involvement in this innovative program at CHUM," says Paul Lévesque, President of Pfizer Canada . "While prevention is vital, so is research. Our recent partnerships with leading Quebec human health researchers demonstrate this belief."

Pfizer Canada is a loyal supporter of the Fondation du CHUM. Since the foundation's beginnings in 1998, the company has donated more than $2 million to improve care, health promotion and research. "The Fondation du CHUM is fortunate that it can count on one of its largest donors in an innovative program, helping to empower CHUM patients and enhancing their quality of life. Through their support Pfizer Canada is confirming the essential health education role of a university health centre like CHUM," says Ékram Antoine Rabbat, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Fondation du CHUM.

About CHUM: www.chumontreal.qc.ca

About the Fondation du CHUM: www.fondationduchum.com

About Pfizer Canada: Please visit pfizer.ca for information about Pfizer Canada's commitment in the field of medical research and the community, and about the company itself and its products. Visit morethanmedication.ca to learn how Pfizer Canada seeks to encourage people to lead a healthy and balanced life.

For further information: Lucie Dufresne, Communications Advisor, CHUM, [phone], ext. 15380, Pager: [phone]; Mariane Bouvette, Communications and Marketing Advisor, Fondation du CHUM, [phone], ext. 33137; Julie-Catherine Racine, Pfizer Canada Inc., [phone], 1 866 973-4937