Céline Dion is Patron of the CHU Sainte-Justine ( House of Life )

House of life: A community project for making the Emergency Unit more comfortable for children
Celine Dion Cinema for hospitalized children

"The Sainte-Justine is not a hospital, it's a house, a house of life." These words by Celine Dion, patron of the CHU Sainte-Justine, resonated with well-known producer and mother Denise Robert. Upon a visit to the Emergency with her daughter, she was quite surprised to find the emergency waiting room's environment not really tailored to children. "Nothing is more logical than to provide children with a warm, comfortable and inviting environment that helps make their visit to the Emergency less traumatic for them," she said.

So an idea popped into her mind, and she did not waist any time contacting well-known people within her network to help her get this somewhat off-the-wall, but so necessary philanthropic project started: redesigning the emergency waiting room and building a movie house inside the Justine-Lacoste-Beaubien Amphitheater where hospitalized children and their families can enjoy watching new box office releases on the silver screen.

The movie house, which will be called the Celine Dion Cinema, will be built under the direction of Denise Robert and Guy Gagnon. They will combine their talent to create the Celine Dion Cinema, equipped with a projector, screen, sound system, and professional services. "Rene and I are very proud to be the patrons of this wonderful project: The house of life," Celine Dion announced. "We are also very touched that the movie house will be called the Celine Dion Cinema. It will surely bring many hours of joy to hospitalized children, who will be able to watch all the new feature films at the same time as their school friends."

"This community project entirely dedicated to improving the quality of life of children who pass through the Emergency Unit, corresponds so well with our philosophy to provide patient-centered care. The emergency waiting room and the Celine Dion Cinema will both be warm and comfortable places for children and their families," confirmed Dr Fabrice Brunet, Chief Executive Director of the CHU Sainte-Justine. The new emergency waiting room and the Celine Dion Cinema are expected to be completed by spring 2012.