“What I love about the Children’s is that everyone is connected to everyone else: the doctors, the nurses, the fellow who mops the floor – all working as a team to help children feel better and get well.”

In her 30 years as a pediatrician at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, Dr. Claire Dupont has had a profound effect on the care provided to children. One of the driving forces behind the hospital’s first pediatric intensive care unit, Dr. Dupont was also a senior hospital administrator in charge of professional services. Now aged 85, she still feels connected to the hospital and is inspired to continue helping.

She does this through the Sebastian Dupont Endowment Fund, named in honour of her son, a Children’s patient who died when he was just two months old. Dr. Dupont established the fund with just a little over $5,000, it is now worth tens of thousands of dollars and continues to grow. It has helped support best institutional practices, “so that each patient receives the care and support he needs at every point in the process, and everyone on the team shares in the commitment to this goal.”

Dr. Dupont would like to encourage others to start their own endowment funds. “Many can do what I did. Over time, even small amounts of money add up to great value in sustaining excellence of care.”