Dessercom

Operational and investment decisions fall to President and CEO Maxime Laviolette, who leads the executive team, while the seven-member board of directors, chaired by Clarence Pelletier, provides governance. Because Dessercom is a registered charity, major capital allocations — such as the acquisitions of GTI Medical (2023) and Airmedic (2024) — are shaped by its philanthropic mission rather than a profit motive.

Dessercom is a non-profit charitable organization governed by a board and operated as an ambulance and medical-transport company. It reports no private family ownership; its assets are held for community benefit, and surpluses are reinvested in service expansion, hospital foundations, and community sponsorships.

The organization runs four main lines: pre-hospital emergency ambulance services, inter-facility medical transport and accompaniment, the Dessercom Événements medical-coverage unit, and the Airmedic aeromedical-evacuation division acquired in 2024. A separate subsidiary, Gestac HDL, manages hospital parking and cafeteria operations at Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis.

Acquisition is its primary expansion engine. Since its first ambulance purchase in 1984, Dessercom has completed dozens of roll-up acquisitions across Quebec, including its largest wave in 2017 and the addition of Ambulances Senneterre in 2025. It also launches organic services, such as its dispatch centre and event-medicine division.

As a registered charity, Dessercom directs excess revenue toward health-related philanthropy. The firm funds hospital foundations, provides community sponsorships, and constructed the Maison Dessercom, a residence that supports patients and families. It does not distribute profits to shareholders.

Dessercom acquired Airmedic in 2024, adding a wholly owned aeromedical-evacuation service to its ground-ambulance and event-medicine portfolio. The acquisition marked the organization’s first entry into fixed-wing and helicopter medical transport.

Dessercom itself is the philanthropic vehicle: it holds charitable status and retains no private owners. Its community arm executes hospital donations, event sponsorship, and the construction of support facilities like Maison Dessercom, all funded by operating surpluses.