The RPCU prizes

The Regroupement provincial des comités des usagers awards the RPCU Excellence Prizes to highlight the work done by the users’ and in-patient’ committees with the aim of improving the quality of services offered to users of the health and social services network and the respect for their rights.

In 2019, the Regroupement also instituted the Denis-Marceau Prize. This Prize is awarded to an individual who is or has been a member of a committee, someone who has distinguished themself in an exemplary manner in improving the quality of care and social services, the influence of the accomplishments of the committees and defending the users’ rights.

The RPCU Excellence Prizes and Denis-Marceau Prize are awarded each year during the dinner and the award ceremony held at the RPCU congress.

Prizes descriptions and how to apply:

About RPCU Excellence Prizes

The RPCU Excellence Prizes are awarded to recognize and reward the exceptional commitment and valuable contribution of volunteers involved in user committees (UC) and in-patient’ committees (IPC) from all regions of Quebec.

They highlight the excellence and originality of the actions and tools developed in the exercise of four legal functions related to the mandate of the committees:

Inform users of their rights and obligations: the UCs and IPCs create tools and activities to inform users of their rights and obligations.
Promote the improvement of the quality of the users’ living conditions: the UCs and IPCs find original ways to improve the quality of the users’ living conditions or to assess user satisfaction with services.
Defend the collective rights and the users’ interests: the UCs and IPCs defend the collective rights and interests of users or, upon request, the rights and interests of a user with the establishment or any other competent authority.
Accompany and assist users in any process: the UCs and IPCs build partnerships and suggest innovative solutions to accompany or assist a user in any process they undertake. The jury may consider a particular outcome, settlement, or association in support of an issue or complaint.

Four RPCU Excellence Prizes are awarded. Each legal function constitutes a prize category.

Appendix 2 of the Reference framework for Users’ Committees and In-Patient’ Committees provides examples of activities to be carried out by the committees to exercise their legal functions.

Eligibility criteria

The RPCU Excellence Prizes can be awarded to a users’ committee or an in-patient’ committee.

To be eligible, the committee must:

Be a member of the RPCU (membership 2023-2024 up to date);
Choose a category to participate in. Please note that each committee can apply in only one category;
Projects must have been carried-out between April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023;
Respect the criteria established for each category:
- Information: having developed tools to inform users of their rights and obligations.
- Promotion: having found an original way to promote the quality of users’ living conditions or to evaluate the degree of satisfaction of users with the services.
- Defend the users’ rights: having defended the rights and the collective interests of users or, upon request, the rights and interests of a user before the institutions or any other competent authority.
- Accompaniment: having accompanied and assisted a user in a process, including a complaint. Having also helped them to exercise their rights in the most enlightened way possible.

The deadline for submitting an application

The 2023 nomination period is now closed.

We thank all the committees that sent in their forms. We will now begin the analysis process and will contact you if necessary.

Winners’ selection

These prizes are awarded by RPCU’s Board of Directors following the recommendations of an independent jury, set up to evaluate the candidates and make a recommendation. RPCU’s executive team is responsible for soliciting applications and forming an independent jury.

Evaluation criteria

Projects should:

Have an impact on a large number of users and caregivers;
Promote the involvement of volunteers;
Be able to transpose to other committees;
Demonstrate a partnership with the caregivers, the community and the establishment;
Draw attention to the accomplishments of the establishment/partner;
Have a lasting impact on users and caregivers;
Propose possible solutions;
Rigorously assess the quality of services;
Enable the development of knowledge and skills of CUs and IPCs members;
Allow users and caregivers to exercise their rights in an informed and independent manner, etc.

Here are the winners of the 2022 RPCU Excellence Prizes

Category Information: The CHU Sainte-Justine Users’ Committee
Production of various promotional tools, including seven plexiglass murals created by artists in the form of seek-and-find works, to help understand user rights; booklets containing these works, which were given out during Users’ Rights Week; and coloring placemats with the image of these murals, which were distributed through food cabarets.
Category Promotion: The CHUM Users’ Committee
For the creation of the Patient Notebook, a document allowing users to take notes during their hospitalization, write their questions, plan their departure, and do their follow-ups. The notebook is intended as a communication tool between the user, his relatives, and his care team.
Category Defend the users’ rights: The Berthiaume-Du Tremblay Residence Users’ Committee
For the development of a communication brigade during the pandemic, with the aim of offering comfort to the relatives of isolated residents. Calls were made every week to the residents’ sponsors to hear from them and listen to them in order to break the isolation.
Category Accompaniment: The Users’ Committee of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval
For the development of a telephone on-call/email tool, accessible 7 days a week, which allows the committee to assume its role as the user’s representative, to become the voice of the latter and communicate in real time their difficulties experienced.

Information

Promotion

Defend the users’ rights

Accompaniment

About Denis-Marceau Prize

Established in 2018, this prize honors the memory of a man who greatly contributed to the defense of users’ rights through his involvement on the RPCU’s board of directors for many years, notably as second vice-president.

The Denis-Marceau Prize is awarded to an individual who is or has been a member of a committee, someone who has distinguished themself in an exemplary manner in improving the quality of care and social services, the influence of the accomplishments of the committees and defending the users’ rights.

A prize and an honorable mention will be awarded to the recipient.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, the candidate must:

Be or have been a volunteer on a member committee of the Regroupement;
Work or have worked exceptionally in promoting and defending the rights of users of the health and social services network;
Have or have had at least 5 years of social and volunteer involvement in the health and social services field;
Prioritize or have prioritized collaborative involvement leading to actual changes within the establishment.

The deadline for submitting an application

The 2023 nomination period is now closed.

We thank all the committees that sent in their forms. We will now begin the analysis process and will contact you if necessary.

Winners’ selection

About Mr. Denis Marceau

Denis Marceau (1941 – 2018)

Mr. Marceau has greatly contributed to the defense of users’ rights through his involvement on the RPCU’s board of directors for many years, notably as second vice-president.

He also worked for more than 35 years at the Université de Sherbrooke as a professor and dean of the faculty of education. He was vice-rector for teaching, vice-rector for graduate studies and continuing education and assistant rector. He received the Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Seniors as well as academic palms from the French Ministry of Education. Mr. Marceau was also a member and president of the Users’ Committee of the CHU de Sherbrooke.

The first recipient of the award (2019)

Mr. André Poirier (1945 – 2021)

The Regroupement provincial des comités des usagers (RPCU) awarded the 2019 Denis-Marceau Prize to Mr. André Poirier, at the time Vice-President of the Users’ Committee of Arthabaska-et-de -l’Érable and member of the board of directors and executive of the RPCU. The prize was awarded to him for his exemplary contribution to improving the quality of care and services in the health and social services network and defending the rights of users and in recognition of his exceptional involvement with the RPCU since the founding of the organization in 2004.

Mr. André Poirier has had a career in private enterprise as a manager in the labour relations sector. He then became a consultant in human resources management, specializing in communication, teamwork, motivation, and productivity. As a volunteer, he has greatly contributed to the continuous improvement of the quality of care and services, both locally in Victoriaville and the Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec region, as well as nationally with our Regroupement. He chaired the Arthabaska-et-de-l’Érable Users’ Committee for 22 years, first for the Hôtel-Dieu d’Arthabaska and then for the CSSS d’Arthabaska-et-de-L’Érable. In 2017, he handed over the chairmanship of the committee and served as vice-chairman. He has also carried out evaluation visits in CHSLDs, provided training for the RPCU and was a member of the clinical advisory committee of the Dossier de santé du Québec.

André Poirier passed away on November 19, 2021, at the age of 76. The RPCU recognizes its chance to have had the opportunity to pay tribute to Mr. Poirier when he was still with us. His contributions are immortalized in this award and he will live on in the history of the Regroupement.

Award recipient (2022)

Ms. Lise Turgeon

Ms. Turgeon has been an active member of the CRDI de Québec Users’ Committee since 2009. She has distinguished herself in many respects for her leadership, for defending users’ rights, for her efficiency and rigour, and for having contributed to the production of several reference pamphlets for users and their families, available to workers at the CIUSSS de la Capitale Nationale.

Mrs. Turgeon is, above all, the mother of Annie, who has an intellectual disability and currently lives in an intermediate resource. Her experience as a mother served her well to illustrate the difficulties that parents face when they have to deal with residence managers. It was inspired by her experience that she proposed various actions.

Endowed with a talent for writing, she was the main responsible to produce several documents. They all agree with the mission of informing, supporting, and accompanying users and their loved ones. Presented in a simple and concise editorial form, these documents are likely to meet the needs of users who wish to have access to precise and accessible information.

Ms. Turgeon also worked on setting up an In-patient’ committee, whose mandate is to ensure that the well-being of residents is prioritized in all spheres and to work on the development of a common vision of users and parents.