The body of the head of the establishment’s mental health and drug addiction center was found in the rubble of an apartment on rue Pierre-Mauroy last weekend.
Long and graying hair, like his beard, Dr. Alexandre Klein poses, relaxed, on a boat at the open sea. This snapshot of a summer day was projected onto a television screen at the Center hospitalier de Calais this Thursday . A few inches away was a desk and a microphone, in front of which the general manager, the vice chairman of the supervisory board, the medical directors and the plant nurses took turns.
All paid homage to the man who was the head of the mental health and drug addiction center of the hospital, victim of the collapse of the two buildings in rue Pierre-Mauroy, in Lille, in the night between Saturday and Sunday. The 45-year-old’s body was found in the rubble of an apartment he had borrowed from friends.
Moved, Caroline Hennion, the director of the Calais hospital center, spoke first in front of an audience of colleagues, but also in front of the victim’s parents. He traced the career of Dr. Alexandre Klein, from his thesis in general practice in 2006 to his deputies, up to his arrival at the establishment in 2018 and his specialization in psychiatry.
Human and professional qualities
“Is it from this period that your train commutes to Lille? In any case, it institutes the Thursday evening aperitif, shared by all Calais-Lille commuters from 6.50 pm and warmly participates in these simple and informal meetings” , he asks with a smile.
Caroline Hennion also remembers 2020, the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the support that the doctor has been able to provide. “Innovative, approachable, attentive, these are qualities of Dr. Klein that we then discover”, she emphasizes.
And the director of the Calais Hospital Center praised the “energy”, the skills of “dialogue” and the “tenacity” that he was able to demonstrate as soon as he took up his position at the Mental Health and Addiction Center in 2021.
“Dr Klein, I would like to tell you on behalf of all those gathered here that ‘the most beautiful burials are in our hearts’, according to Seneca’s beautiful expression. And that your soul will continue to accompany us for a long time to continue you”, he concluded.
“Fun Was Serious”
The desk was taken over by Patricia Basset, assistant to the town hall and vice president of the supervisory board. “Since the announcement of his passing last weekend, the multiple expressions of past and present patients all express the same thing: gratitude to a physician wholly dedicated to the practice of his specialty and to the support of all who have come to seek the his commitment,” he insisted.
Doctor Philippe Levisse is the last to have spoken lightly, recalling his closeness to his colleague. “We’ve never gone more than three days without calling each other, even on vacation,” said the man who was known as his mentor.
“Work was serious. Friendship was serious. Fun was serious too,” he assured, recalling the fond memories he had of “Alex.”
