Héma-Québec inaugurates its new building on the Université Laval Campus
Montréal, September 29, 2004 - Before an audience of several hundred guests, Héma-Québec today inaugurated its new building located on the Université Laval campus at 1009 Du Vallon Road in Sainte-Foy. The Honourable Sam Hamad, representing the Ministre de la Santé et des Services sociaux, was present to celebrate this event and pay tribute to all Héma-Québec employees.
Under the terms of a 30-year emphyteutic lease, Université Laval turned over a 7,300-square-metre area of land located southwest of the Ferdinand-Vandry pavilion to the Merlin-Pomerleau consortium. Héma-Québec became tenant of the 2,370-square-metre building for the same term. In order to supply hospital blood banks in Québec City and Eastern Québec, the new facility has a total of 6,200 square metres of usable space.
Some 410 employees work in the new three-storey building. In addition to accommodating the various Héma-Québec operations teams, the facility brings together research and development and the Histo-Québec human tissues division.
According to Dr. Francine Décary, Chief Executive officer, Héma-Québec: "The new environment will allow for increased efficiency in our overall operations and its undertaking is in keeping with our vision of being the North American leader in our field in 2005. It is important to note that all of our efforts are directed toward saving or improving patients' lives."
As for the Chairman of Héma-Québec's Board of Directors, Dr. André Lebrun, he stated that "with the official inauguration of the 1009 Du Vallon Road building, Héma-Québec continues its way on the road to excellence. These world-class facilities will enable it to sustain its development and fulfil its mission."
On September 28, Héma-Québec celebrated its sixth anniversary. Over the past six years, Héma-Québec has welcomed 1.8 million donors at 12,000 blood drives organized together with community partners throughout Québec.
Héma-Québec's mission is to efficiently provide adequate quantities of safe, optimal blood components, substitutes and human tissues to meet the needs of all Quebeckers; and to provide and develop expertise and services, along with specialized and innovative products, in the fields of transfusion medicine and human tissue transplantation.
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