Brand cap on his head, Christian, 88, seated with friends, hums and sips quietly a soda. "We forget everything, under the sun of Mexico City... A banal scene in any bistro except that this one, called Chez Georges, is located in the Ehpad Georges-Dumont, in Abbeville (Somme). It is located in an imposing building of the eighteenth century dependent on the hospital center of the city. Here, coffee is 50 cents, soda 1 euro. A homemade cocktail, the Saint-Georges, is also to be tasted.
Open every afternoon of the week from 14 p.m. to 17:30 p.m., Chez Georges is very popular with patients, who are 306 in the establishment, families and 186 employees. When the weather is nice, tables and chairs are set up outside. "I come almost every day. We talk about everything with friends. Before, it was sad. I stayed in my room," says Christian, who is in a wheelchair.
Next door, Djamila, 74, also in a wheelchair, came thanks to his sister, Sonia, 67: "It's very good, it sets the mood. Some residents do not see their families. It changes them," she says. Guérard, 70, said: "Before, I was also in my room moping." Djamila adds: "I like the hubbub of the bistro. It's a change from the ordinary. »
Also open to the public
The idea of this bistro, run by an Ehpad agent, germinated in the head of Laurent Douchin, senior health manager of the geriatrics center: "This hall was empty, he says. Now it is a village within the city. This is only positive. There are residents who come out of their rooms even not to consume, families who come back and visit them more often. Reports are more courteous. »
The general public can also walk through the doors to take a break: "We want to be more open. It is possible to visit the structure. The goal is to create social ties. Meanwhile, Christian continues to sing the song to applause...