“The passion and commitment shown by our community of physicians and researchers is a great source of pride to the Max Rady College of Medicine and to UM as a whole,” said Dr. Peter Nickerson, vice-provost (health sciences) and dean of the Max Rady College of Medicine and the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. “This honour not only recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of our University of Manitoba alumni and faculty members but also underscores UM’s dedication to nurturing generations of influential physicians and innovative researchers. Together, we continue to shape the future of medicine, making a lasting impact on health in Canada and beyond.”

On Nov. 18, University of Manitoba alumni, partners, faculty members, learners, and friends of the college will come together to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the Max Rady College of Medicine at a gala at the RBC Convention Centre. The event will raise funds for MD and grad student bursaries and serve as an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of all its members.

Please enjoy these snapshots of the remarkable UM faculty and alumni named laureates of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame who have helped the Max Rady College of Medicine make its mark at home and around the world.

Biographies of our CMHF laureates:

2022 – Dr. Noralou Roos

Unlocked the potential of big data systems analysis to clarify the social determinants of health helping inform effective policies in support of universal health care

Dr. Noralou Roos, a pioneer in big data analysis for health care, co-founded the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy with her husband Leslie Roos. Over five decades, their initiative tracked the health and health care utilization of one million Manitobans, creating a valuable data resource linking health-care system use with actual needs. Dr. Roos’ innovative approach in gathering and analyzing administrative health-care data has set global standards, enabling post-market pharmaceutical safety assessments, data-informed resource allocation (especially in children’s health care) and more effective poverty alleviation strategies. Her pioneering work has gained international recognition and established large-scale data analysis as a cornerstone of effective population health-care management. Through her EvidenceNetwork.ca project, she shares authoritative health-care information with the public, utilizing media to enhance understanding of health-care issues. Dr. Roos has been transformative in reshaping health-care analysis and policy development.

2020 – Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov

A champion of personalized and dignified end of life care

Harvey Max Chochinov [MD/83, PhD/96], a distinguished professor of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and senior scientist at the Research Institute of Oncology and Hematology, CancerCare Manitoba, is a leading advocate for personalized and dignified end-of-life care. His pioneering work has improved palliative care for those facing life-limiting conditions, addressing distress, depression and the desire for death, while promoting vulnerability recognition. Dr. Chochinov’s research provides guidelines for psychosocial intervention and enabling individuals to approach their end-of-life with dignity. Throughout his career, he has touched the lives of thousands with the life-affirming principles of Dignity Therapy.

2019 – Dr. Naranjan Dhalla

A champion of Canadian cardiovascular research on the international stage

Naranjan Dhalla, a prominent figure in Canadian cardiovascular research, holds the title of distinguished professor of physiology and pathophysiology at the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine. He is a founding leader of two global cardiovascular science organizations: the International Society of Heart Research (ISHR), emphasizing fundamental cardiovascular research, and the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences (IACS), committed to promoting cardiovascular health education and community involvement. These organizations have fostered international collaboration, bringing together countries and regions worldwide to advance cardiovascular knowledge and health. Dr. Dhalla’s contributions have earned him 177 honours and awards from organizations globally.

2018 – Philip Berger [MD/74]

A renowned leader in health promotion, illness prevention and care

Philip Berger [MD/74], an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine and former chief of the department of family and community medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital (1997-2013), is a prominent leader in health promotion, illness prevention and compassionate health care. He’s been a staunch advocate for various marginalized groups, including refugees, the LGBTQ+ community, individuals with HIV/AIDS, those battling addiction, homelessness and poverty. Dr. Berger has actively promoted initiatives like methadone treatment, needle exchanges, recognition of torture survivors’ needs, academic infirmaries for the homeless and clinical AIDS treatment in Africa, often in the face of indifference or opposition.

2018 – Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg

A trailblazer in genetic identification and treatment for rare disorders

Dr. Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg, a pioneer in rare disorder genetics, discovered her passion for these conditions early on, shaping her career in pediatrics and medical genetics. As an academic clinician, she specialized in applied molecular genetics, uncovering the genetic roots of disorders prevalent in unique populations. Notably, she delved into hypophosphatasia (HPP), a metabolic bone disorder and glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1), a complex organic acid metabolism disorder affecting Mennonite and Indigenous communities. Dr. Rockman-Greenberg has collaborated closely with these communities, bridging the gap between research facilities at major universities and the people who rely on advanced knowledge and skills for their care.

2017 – Estelle Simons, [MD/69] FRCPC

An icon in the field of allergy and immunology

Professor emerita Dr. Estelle Simons [MD/69], an icon in allergy and immunology, is renowned for her lifelong research on managing allergic diseases like asthma, allergic rhinitis and anaphylaxis. Over the years, she led groundbreaking clinical pharmacology studies, correlating blood concentrations with organ effects to confirm dosing rationale for new medications. Many of these drugs have stood the test of time, remaining globally utilized and proven safe. Dr. Simons also collaborated with immunology experts to uncover allergen sensitization mechanisms and explore novel agents for immune modulation.

2013 – Arnold Naimark, OC, [MD/57]

An outstanding leader and academic builder

Arnold Naimark [MD/57], a remarkable academic leader, joined the University of Manitoba in 1963, swiftly ascending to the role of dean of the faculty of medicine by 1971. As dean, he transformed the university’s medical programs, revitalizing departments like physiology and social/preventive medicine (later community health sciences) and spearheading the creation of the Northern Medical Unit. His innovative leadership extended to national and international medical education and research organizations. In 1981, he became the University of Manitoba’s ninth president and vice-chancellor, addressing broader university matters while continuing to advance medicine and health sciences.

2012 – John Dirks, OC [MD/57]

An exemplary builder in health research and innovation and committed global health advocate

John Dirks [MD/61], a clinician-scientist and global health advocate, has made remarkable contributions to health research and innovation. He excelled in renal physiology and held leadership roles in Canadian medical faculties. His passion for global health developed during his time at the Aga Khan University in Pakistan. However, Dr. Dirks’ most enduring achievement is transforming the Gairdner Foundation and its awards into the renowned Canada Gairdner Awards. These awards celebrate exceptional biomedical research. His visionary leadership revitalized the organization, boosting its global recognition and ensuring the lasting impact of these awards.

2011 – Allan Ronald, OC [MD/61]

An internationally respected expert in infectious disease and a pioneer in HIV/AIDS research and control

After international training, Allan Ronald [MD/61] returned to Winnipeg in 1968 to set in motion the creation of the Manitoba Infectious Disease Program. It soon became internationally recognized and has been acknowledged as Canada’s centre of excellence in the research and training of infectious diseases. As part of his commitment to global infectious disease research and treatment, Dr. Ronald assisted the University of Nairobi in creating one of the premiere initiatives in health collaborations between northern and southern institutions: the University of Manitoba/University of Nairobi WHO Research and Training Program in Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

2010 – James Hogg [MD/62]

A passionate and innovative scientist in the field lung research

James Hogg [MD/62], a dedicated and innovative scientist in lung research, has significantly shaped our understanding of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma. His pioneering work on airway inflammation has transformed how scientists and physicians view COPD. Throughout his extensive career, Dr. Hogg has consistently focused on exploring the mechanisms and anatomical aspects of obstructive lung diseases. His contributions have established him as a leading authority in these fields, profoundly impacting the medical community’s knowledge of COPD and asthma worldwide.

2003 – Charles Hollenberg [MD/55]

A leader of the Canadian academic medical community

After receiving his MD from the University of Manitoba and pursuing post-graduate training in internal medicine, Charles Hollenberg [MD/55] turned to a life of academic medicine and leadership. Dr. Hollenberg’s academic career began at McGill University in the 1960s, where he conducted an active program of research in fat metabolism and actively promoted the growth of scientific medicine at the Montreal General Hospital. The following decade he spent as chair of the department of medicine at the University of Toronto, where he was successful in furthering the mission of the department in all areas, including teaching, administration and research.

2001 – Henry Friesen [MD/58]

A transformative influence on health research in Canada

Dr. Henry Friesen [MD/58], a pivotal figure in Canadian health research, began his journey in 1965 at McGill University’s department of medicine. There, his pioneering work on human growth hormones enabled effective hormone replacement therapy for children with deficiencies. He later achieved a breakthrough in endocrine research by isolating and purifying prolactin. Beyond his research, Dr. Friesen demonstrated remarkable administrative leadership, notably as president of the Medical Research Council of Canada. He successfully navigated the council through challenging periods with remarkable competence and diplomacy, and his vision and advocacy played a key role in transforming it into the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. His contributions have left an indelible mark on health research in Canada.

1995 – Bruce Chown, OC [MD/22]

An expert clinician, diagnostician, innovator and teacher

Dr. Bruce Chown [MD/22], a highly skilled clinician, diagnostician, innovator and educator, dedicated his career to researching erythroblastosis fetalis, commonly known as “Rh disease.” This condition occurs when a pregnant mother’s Rh factor differs from her unborn child’s, leading her immune system to harm the baby, potentially causing severe complications in vital organ development and even fetal or postnatal death. Dr. Chown went on to establish a facility in partnership with Connaught Laboratories for producing Rh immune serum. His groundbreaking work significantly reduced the incidence of Rh disease in Canada and globally, protecting countless pregnancies and newborns from this condition.

The recently announced grants from the Fall 2022 funding round went to faculty members in medicine, nursing and pharmacy.

“This outstanding result reflects the high calibre of our health researchers,” said UM Vice-President (Research and International) Dr. Mario Pinto.

“This funding will enable UM laboratory scientists to advance knowledge in areas such as cardiovascular health, spinal cord injury, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Rett syndrome. Rady Faculty investigators will also conduct cutting-edge data research, as well as vital studies aimed at supporting mental health and well-being.”

The largest grant of more than $1.4 million went to a team led by Dr. Linda Larcombe, an associate professor of internal medicine, community health sciences and medical microbiology/infectious diseases.

Larcombe is an anthropologist whose research focuses on First Nations history, health and collaborative research. Her grant will fund a three-year project called “Connecting with cultural heritage: Land-based learning and healing through archeology in northern Manitoba.”

The study team will create and evaluate a land-based healing and cultural heritage program that will enable youth to explore archeological sites and artifacts reflecting the thousands of years of Inuit, Dene and Cree presence along the coast of Hudson Bay at Churchill, Man.

“We will determine if cultural heritage in land-based healing programming can contribute to wellness and leadership development of Inuit, Dene and Cree youth,” the researchers wrote.

Here’s a look at the other funded projects. More information on the studies and research teams is available here.

Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, distinguished professor, psychiatry, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

In Chochinov’s study, health-care professionals will hold conversations with cancer patients, guided by the Patient Dignity Question: “What do I need to know about you as a person to take the best care of you possible?” The study will measure how this affects the experiences of both patients and care providers.

Dr. Ian Dixon, professor, physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; principal investigator, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital

Grant: $1,040,400 (five years)

Dixon’s project centres on proteins and processes involved in skin wound healing, with the goal of developing treatments to speed wound closure and reduce scarring. The study will investigate how age and sex affect dermal healing. It will also examine the healing of skin damage caused by chemotherapy and radiation.

Dr. Soheila Karimi, professor, physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)

Grant: $1,136,025 (five years)

Neural stem cell therapy has exciting potential for patients with spinal cord injury, but it currently faces the challenge that the cells die after they are transplanted. Karimi’s project will test an experimental treatment aimed at optimizing the use of neural stem cells for repairing spinal cord injury.

Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, assistant professor, medical microbiology and infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in molecular pathogenesis of emerging viruses; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $750,000 (five years)

Kindrachuk’s team will investigate the circulation and transmission of the monkeypox virus in wildlife in regions of Africa where the virus is endemic, as well as surrounding areas. They will also assess the potential impact of the virus on Canadian wildlife.

Dr. Lorrie Kirshenbaum, professor, physiology and pathophysiology, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in molecular cardiology; director, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre

Grant: $853,931 (five years)

Kirshenbaum’s project builds on the growing evidence of a link between body-clock disruptions – like those experienced by shift workers and people with health issues such as sleep apnea – and cardiac dysfunction. He will investigate the relationship between circadian disruption and heart attack.

Dr. Lisa Lix, professor, community health sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in methods for electronic health data quality

Grant: $508,725 (three and a half years)

Lix’s study focuses on using anonymized health-care databases to construct personal and family disease histories for chronic illnesses, such as heart disease. Researchers will compare two methods for creating disease histories, using data from Manitoba and Denmark, and assess their value for predicting disease risk.

Dr. Suresh Mishra, professor, internal medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Mishra will explore the role of cholesterol in the body’s production of steroid hormones. He aims to develop new ways to treat altered steroid hormone levels, which can lead to infertility and illnesses such as inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Neeloffer Mookherjee, professor, internal medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Mookherjee’s team will look at differences in how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) develops in males and females. In addition to using a mouse model, her team will study human samples from close relatives of RA patients, who may show changes in their blood before the appearance of clinical RA symptoms.

Dr. Christopher Pascoe, assistant professor, physiology and pathophysiology; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Pascoe’s project aims to better understand how diabetes in pregnancy increases the risk of asthma in offspring. He will examine how maternal diabetes increases the twitchiness of airway smooth muscle in the lungs of offspring, and whether a specific enzyme co-ordinates changes in this muscle.

Dr. Mojgan Rastegar, professor, biochemistry and medical genetics, Max Rady College of Medicine; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $990,675 (five years)

Rastegar has been working for more than 10 years to understand the pathobiology of Rett syndrome, a severe neurodevelopmental disorder in young children. This study will investigate the molecular and cellular abnormalities of the brain in this syndrome. The goal is to pave the way for therapeutic strategies.

Dr. Emily Rimmer, assistant professor, internal medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine

Grant: $307,530 (three years)

Rimmer’s project is a pilot study in preparation for an international randomized controlled trial of therapeutic plasma exchange as a treatment for septic shock. The researchers see potential for this treatment to save lives by removing harmful substances from the blood and replacing missing blood components.

Dr. Zulma Rueda, associate professor, medical microbiology and infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in sexually transmitted infection – resistance and control

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Rueda’s team will look at the incidence and impact of methamphetamine use and concurrent sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections in people living with HIV in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. One of the study’s goals is effective knowledge-sharing among people living with HIV, service providers and communities.

Dr. Geoffrey Tranmer, associate professor, College of Pharmacy

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Tranmer will focus on edaravone, one of the few drugs approved to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In its current form, this medication has many limitations. Tranmer’s team plans to develop improved versions of edaravone and test them in order to optimize the drug and prepare it for advanced clinical trials.

Dr. Sonia Udod, associate professor, College of Nursing

Grant: $450,000 (three years)

Udod’s research will examine how health system leaders have adapted in response to the pandemic. She aims to determine how leaders can build their own and nurses’ psychological health and well-being to ensure a healthy workforce and organizational resilience at hospitals during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Roberta Woodgate, distinguished professor, College of Nursing; Canada Research Chair in child and family engagement in health research and healthcare; researcher, CHRIM

Grant: $776,475 (five years)

Woodgate’s youth-centred, mixed-methods study aims to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health and well-being of Manitoba youth who have come of age during the pandemic. The findings will inform recommendations to improve services and supports for this population.

Grant: $100,000 (one year)

Woodgate’s team will also conduct a youth-centered, arts-based longitudinal study that will result in the creation and evaluation of a toolkit. This toolkit, co-created by youth, will be designed for use in schools to foster social connectedness and optimize youth mental health and well-being.

They also want to discover what it’s been like for people to experience the death of a family member during the pandemic.

Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, distinguished professor of psychiatry in the Max Rady College of Medicine and senior scientist at the CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute, is leading several studies as part of a research program called “Dignity in Care in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Chochinov, a laureate of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, is a globally recognized expert on end-of-life care and dying with dignity. The pandemic, he says, has profoundly affected how health professionals provide care to patients who are dying of any cause, and how loved ones navigate bereavement.

“For health-care providers, many of these stories have been untold,” Chochinov says. “Everybody has been working at such a frenetic pace that there is little time to be attentive to the emotional fallout of working during the time of the pandemic.”

The researchers plan to study the psychological impacts of having to protect oneself and others from infection while delivering end-of-life care in an overloaded health-care system in which many deaths are occurring.

“Doing this study with health-care providers is a way of recording that experience – the prevalence of effects such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, burnout and COVID-related distress. Then we can begin planning resources and interventions that will be effective to try and mitigate their stress,” the professor says.

People who have experienced the loss of a loved one from any cause have had to deal with many stresses related to COVID health restrictions, such as the inability to visit those dying in hospital or to gather for rituals of mourning.

“For families and health-care providers who have experienced death during the time of pandemic: Your stories are important,” says Chochinov. “We want to hear your stories, because your stories need to be heard. If we can learn from your experience, we are in a better position to deal with your distress in the future.

“Many people welcome the opportunity to give voice to things that have been troubling them, so the research for families and health-care providers will hopefully be seen as an opportunity.”

Participation in a Dignity in Care study is done through an online survey that takes about 20 minutes to complete.

The survey is done three times in total, with six-month intervals between each survey. Researchers will also be conducting interviews with willing participants that take about 30 to 60 minutes.

“Even though there is a light at the end of the tunnel and COVID may hopefully be ending soon, stress and grief don’t have well-defined timelines, so we will continue to see the fallout of this for months, if not years, to come,” says Chochinov.

To learn more about how to participate in a Dignity in Care research study:

Website: www.dignityincareresearch.com

Study email: dignityincare@umanitoba.ca

Study phone number: 431-336-6266

Facebook page: @dignityincareresearch

Healing Lives: A Century of Manitoba Jewish Physicians has a free, public launch on Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. at the Berney Theatre on the Asper Jewish Community Campus. It also has a launch on Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. at McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park.

Published by the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, the book is the product of several years of information-gathering and fundraising by a committee from the Jewish community. It includes a foreword by distinguished Jewish Canadian historian Irving Abella. 

“In the first half of the 20th century, and even later, Jewish physicians had to overcome prejudice,” says Dr. Jo Swartz, an anesthetist and U of M faculty member who was active on the committee and whose father, Dr. Mel Swartz, was a well-known urologist.

“They were so dedicated,” Swartz says. “They persisted and they excelled. They treated their patients with compassion.  And many of them explored the edges of science and medicine.”

With the goal of documenting the more than 400 Jewish physicians who have practised in Manitoba since 1881, the book committee received research assistance from the Jewish Heritage Centre, and from University of Manitoba medical archivist Jordan Bass.

A U of M website was established so that anyone with information or archival material could submit it. Eva Wiseman, an accomplished Winnipeg author, was hired to conduct further research and write the history.

Dr. Arnold Naimark, who was named the first Jewish dean of medicine at the U of M in 1971 and went on to become university president, also served on the book committee. It was important, Naimark says, that the publication be more than a who’s who.

“It’s not only about who these physicians were, but what they contributed, and how that played out in a social, political and economic context,” Naimark says.  

The book recounts how, from the 1880s through at least the first half of the 20th century, Manitoba Jews faced overt discrimination. They were excluded from many careers, but medicine was open to them. Although many encountered obstacles in obtaining internships and hospital appointments, practising medicine fit with the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, or “repairing the world.”

By the 1920s, Jews were well represented as students at the U of M medical college. Then, in the early 1930s under a bigoted dean of medicine, the college introduced a covert quota system to exclude many Jewish and other minority students. 

In 1943-44, a U of M mathematics lecturer named Shlomo Mitchell led a small group of Jewish students in gathering evidence of the quota system. Mitchell’s whistle-blowing cost him his job. But he and his group succeeded in ending the quota by exposing it to the Manitoba government.  As Abella writes, “It was the opening skirmish in the fight against anti-Semitism in Canada in the 1940s.”

Today, as Wiseman notes, the once-discriminatory college is named the Max Rady College of Medicine in honour of a Jewish physician. Rady graduated from the U of M in 1921 and was known – like many Jewish doctors of the pre-medicare era – for treating patients regardless of their ability to pay.

The social conscience of the Jewish medical community is a strong theme in Healing Lives, from the founding of the free Mount Carmel Clinic – which some dreamed would become a Jewish hospital – to a groundbreaking health-care scheme introduced in the late 1940s.

Under this plan, Winnipeg garment factory owners paid into a health fund. Garment workers also contributed a small percentage of their wages. The Mall Medical Clinic, which had been founded in a socialist spirit by predominantly Jewish doctors, was then paid by the fund to provide health services to the workers and their families.

It was, Wiseman writes, “the first union-industry prepaid medical plan in Canada, and perhaps in all of North America.”

Healing Lives profiles trailblazers such as Dr. Jack Hildes, the hero of Winnipeg’s 1953 polio epidemic and founder of the U of M’s Northern Medical Unit; Dr. Lyonel Israels, a hematologist who was the patriarch of cancer care in Manitoba; and Dr. Mindel Cherniack Sheps, one of the few Jewish women admitted to the medical school under the quota. Sheps, a public health expert, moved to Saskatchewan to advise the government on introducing medicare.

Other notable figures include, to name only a few, palliative care innovator Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov, renowned geneticist Dr. Cheryl Rockman-Greenberg, inflammatory bowel disease specialist Dr. Charles Bernstein and children’s health champion Dr. Dorothy (Osovsky) Hollenberg, a member by marriage of Winnipeg’s Hollenberg medical dynasty.

“Jewish physicians have taken their place in every aspect of the medical profession,” says Naimark.

To be inducted into CMHF, recipients must not only be exemplary scientists, but leaders whose work has led to exceptional improvements in human health.

“I am humbled and honoured by this extraordinary recognition. I hope it serves to focus attention on the critical importance and benefits of palliative care,” says Dr. Chochinov.

Dr. Chochinov’s research into the will to live and the desire for death in those with terminal illness has enlightened and informed debate worldwide regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide.

His research into the will to live and the desire for death in those with terminal illness has enlightened and informed debate worldwide regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide. In fact, his studies on this topic have been cited in every jurisdiction (including various amicus briefs submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States in considering the constitutionality of physician-assisted suicide) wherein legislative reform pertaining to physician-hastened-death has been raised.

“Dr. Chochinov has been one of the most prolific and respected palliative care researchers in the world,” says Dr. Digvir Jayas, Vice-President (Research and International) and Distinguished Professor at the University of Manitoba. “He intuitively grasps burdensome aspects of terminal illness that demand study, and pioneers approaches to their assessment, quantification and alleviation.”

In addition to authoring over 250 publications that have thoroughly explored the psychosocial, existential and spiritual dimensions of palliative end-of-life care, he is also the Co-Editor of the Handbook of Psychiatry in Palliative Medicine, published by Oxford University Press, and the Journal Palliative and Support Care, published by Cambridge University Press. His most recent book, Dignity Therapy: Final Words for Final Days was the 2012 winner of the American Publisher’s Association Prose Award for Clinical Medicine.

Dr. Chochinov is the co-founder and former chair (2001-2016) of the Canadian Virtual Hospice (CVH). This remarkable and innovative achievement provides online information and support to patients, families and health care providers on issues related to palliative and end-of-life care. Recognizing the gap in access to palliative care in rural and remote settings and even in urban centres, Dr. Chochinov was instrumental in its conception and development. CVH is visited by more than 1.6 million people annually from some 200 countries worldwide.

He was the founder and leader of the Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit at CancerCare Manitoba, which has facilitated and led world class research in palliative care. The research carried out by Dr. Chochinov and his colleagues has resulted in significant impacts on how CancerCare Manitoba approaches the end-of-life care of cancer patients. Also stemming from his extensive research is dignity therapy and the International Dignity Therapy Training Workshop. In addition to his research contributions at CancerCare Manitoba, Dr. Chochinov was one of the founding members of the Psychosocial Oncology Department in the early 1990s, which has now significantly grown in providing emotional support to cancer patients and their families across the province.

“Dr. Chochinov has been a leader in groundbreaking research that has defined core-competencies and standards of end-of-life care on a global level,” says Dr. Brian Postl, Dean of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. “The Rady Faculty of Health Sciences congratulates Dr. Chochinov on this deserved honour of joining our country’s most impactful physicians and clinician-scientists. We thank him for inspiring students, residents and health care providers to take a more compassionate approach to the practice of medicine, particularly palliative care.”

Chochinov completed his undergraduate medical training and psychiatric residency at UM, completed a fellowship in psychiatric oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and his doctorate at what is now the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences in 1998. He was named a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry in 2008 at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences and is currently a Senior Scientist in the Research Institute of Oncology and Hematology at CancerCare Manitoba.

“It is my pleasure to offer congratulations to Dr. Chochinov on receiving this laudable recognition,” says Dr. Sri Navaratnam, President and CEO, CancerCare Manitoba. “I am extremely pleased to see that Dr. Chochinov and his many contributions to enhance cancer care provincially, nationally, and internationally are being acknowledged in this way by the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.”

Induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is only given to a select few who have pushed the boundaries of discovery and innovation. Chochinov will join 10 such exceptional UM physicians when he is inducted at a ceremony in spring 2020.

Art historian Patricia Bovey, past chair of the U of M Board of Governors, and palliative care advocate Dr. Harvey Chochinov were selected from among more than 2,700 people who applied for vacant Senate seats. An arms-length advisory board recommended 105 individuals, from whom the nine announced today were chosen.

“All Canadians should be reassured that their interests and concerns will be well-represented by these outstanding Manitobans,” says University of Manitoba President and Vice-Chancellor David Barnard. “I am honoured to have known Senators Bovey and Chochinov for many years as leaders in the university community. Their advocacy for human rights and promoting our culture will help reform the Senate in ways that will benefit all Canadians.”

Senator Patricia Bovey is an art historian, writer and consultant in the arts and not-for-profit sector. She was appointed to the Board of Governors of the University of Manitoba by the Government of Manitoba in 2007, elected Chair in 2013 and served in this capacity until June 22, 2016.

Senator Bovey was Curator of Traditional Art at the Winnipeg Art Gallery from 1970 to 1980. She became its Director in 1999, a position she held until 2004. She was appointed Director Emerita in 2015. She was instrumental in the early development of the Inuit Art Centre.

Bovey’s list of awards include: the Canada 125 Medal (1992); the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2002); YMCA/YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture, Winnipeg (2002); the Inaugural Award of Merit from the Association of Manitoba Museums (2013); Fellow, Canadian Museums Association (2013); and the Investors Group Making a Difference Award, Winnipeg Arts Council (2015).

Senator Harvey Max Chochinov is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and Director of the Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit, CancerCare Manitoba. His work on palliative care has helped define core-competencies and standards of end-of-life care, and has been vocal in his opposition to legally assisted dying.

Dr. Chochinov holds the only Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care and is a member of the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He also chairs the CIHR’s Standing Committee on Ethics.

He completed his undergraduate medical training and psychiatric residency at the University of Manitoba [MD/83], completed a fellowship in psychiatric oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and completed his doctorate at what is now the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba [PhD/98].

Dr. Chochinov is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, and the Order of Manitoba for his work in palliative care. He is the Chair for the Canadian Virtual Hospice, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. In 2009, the University of Manitoba bestowed on him its highest research honour, the Dr. John M. Bowman Rh Institute Foundation Award.

Dr. Chochinov is the 2010 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology and has also received the 2010 International Psycho-Oncology Society’s Bernard Fox Memorial Award, which recognizes an individual’s outstanding contribution in education, research or leadership to the field of psycho-oncology.

Manitoba human rights activist and lawyer Marilou McPhedran was also named as a Senator on Oct. 27.

‘More people die at HSC than any other health-care facility in the province. Yet, HSC does not have a single, dedicated palliative care bed…And yet, should the report’s recommendation come to fruition, HSC would be required to offer euthanasia and assisted suicide.’

On June 6, the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision making physician-hastened death legal will come into effect. A parliamentary committee asked to help the government plot how that would roll out in Canada has made some far-reaching recommendations, well beyond what was contemplated by the court in Carter v. Canada.

The committee, for example, said physician-assisted dying ought to be available in all publicly-funded hospitals and health facilities, including palliative care centres. But some health facilities are ill-equipped, and others are inappropriate settings for medically assisted deaths.

In Manitoba, even some of the best health facilities are simply not up to the job: Health Sciences Centre, for example, does many things well but delivering a “good” death is not its strong suit.

HSC is an extraordinary facility. It is the largest health-care centre in the province, with nearly 8,000 staff and volunteers serving Manitoba, northwestern Ontario and Nunavut. It is the province’s designated trauma centre as well as the centre for transplant, burns, neurosciences and pediatric care.

More people die at HSC than any other health-care facility in the province. Yet, HSC does not have a single, dedicated palliative care bed.

There is no palliative care ward to offer the privacy and calm those dying patients and their families need and deserve. While a palliative care physician and nurse are on-site to give their advice upon request, there is no palliative care service working to address all forms of suffering­­ — physical, psychological and existential — affecting patients and their families. And yet, should the report’s recommendation come to fruition, HSC would be required to offer euthanasia and assisted suicide.

The Children’s Hospital is also located on the HSC campus. It hosts an emergency room for children, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units; in-patient units for surgery, pediatric oncology, burns and plastic surgery, along with numerous outpatient clinics.

Palliative care consultation is available upon request. But if a child is dying at the Children’s Hospital, there is no option to enter a specialized children’s palliative care ward or a children’s hospice. This disproportionately affects First Nations and Inuit children, particularly those from rural and remote parts of the province, given the challenges of discharging them home.

These considerations did not stay the hand of the parliamentary committee, which recommended that within the next three years — despite a nationwide scarcity of pediatric palliative care — that eligibility for medical assistance in dying be extended to those younger than 18.

What about the notion of forcing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide into faith-based health-care organizations?

Founded by the Sisters of Charity (Grey Nuns) in 1871, St. Boniface Hospital provides care for 4,000 in-patients and about 40,000 outpatients annually, employs nearly 700 doctors, 1,500 nurses and hosts cutting-edge, world-class research. It’s all built on the foundation of inviolable moral, religious and ethical traditions.

Failure to find a more nuanced solution that respects conscientious objection and safeguards patient autonomy will place faith-based facilities on a direct collision course with the federal government.

St. Boniface Hospital also houses one of Winnipeg’s premier palliative care units. People, however, are afraid of palliative care; many refuse early referral, which results in protracted and avoidable pain and suffering. Some even suspect that pain medication might inadvertently hasten their death (it will not).

Requiring palliative care services to include medical assistance in dying would do little to assuage those fears. The World Health Organization, in fact, insists on the separation between palliative care and death-hastening practices.

These are just some examples of concerns that would arise if all publicly funded facilities have to offer physician-assisted deaths. The same observations could be made at many health centres, including personal care homes, in the province.

Some people have called the recommendations of the parliamentary committee bold. I fear they lack the wisdom the Supreme Court called for when it described “a complex regulatory regime” needed to balance physician-hastened death with protecting vulnerable persons from being induced to commit suicide at a time of weakness.

With the advent of physician-hastened death, there has never been a more pressing moment in history demanding we get our approach to human suffering and palliative care right. Fewer than two per cent of patients will likely choose to have their lives ended; most will want to live out the length of their days in care and comfort. That should not be asking too much.

One thing is for certain: the dying are too ill to speak, and the dead will never complain. We, the living, must give voice to their needs, remembering our turn will come soon enough.

A group of experts consulting with Canadians on doctor-assisted suicide has a new mandate and more time to complete a report to the federal government. Rather than providing options on developing legislation, the panel, led by University of Manitoba psychiatry Prof. Harvey Max Chochinov, is now asked to simply focus on the results of the consultations. It has until Dec. 15 to complete its report.

Harvey Max Chochinov is Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care and Distinguished Professor of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba. He is also an expert adviser with EvidenceNetwork.ca. He recently wrote an Op-Ed that was published in the Winnipeg Free Press on Feb. 24, 2015. We republish it here.

A few days after the Supreme Court of Canada overturned the prohibition against doctor-assisted suicide, I received a note from a wonderful colleague of mine saying her closest friend’s 53-year-old son had just died of spinal cancer. Two weeks before his death, he had visited his general practitioner, experiencing terrible pain. Despite his anguish, his physician refused to give him morphine, claiming because he was a smoker, he was “more likely to become addicted.”

While this seems unfathomable, even grotesque, ignorance and lack of skill in attending to the needs of dying patients are still tragically common in Canada.

Despite the impressive strides palliative care has taken — in areas such as pain-and-symptom management, and sensitivities to the psychosocial, existential and spiritual challenges facing dying patients and their families — at their time of licensure, physicians have been taught less about pain management than those graduating from veterinary medicine. Once in practice, most physicians’ lack of knowledge can significantly impair their ability to manage cancer pain.

Doctors are also not generally well-trained to engage in end of life conversations, meaning goals of care often remain unclear; patients may not receive the care they want, nor the opportunity to live out their final days in the place they would want to die.

In light of the Supreme Court’s decision, these issues have never been more important, nor the need to resolve them ever more pressing. The court has given Parliament a year to sort out how it will move forward and rewrite the Criminal Code. Within these deliberations, it should be noted the authority to provide a hastened death will be conferred on physicians, many of whom lack the skills to care for patients nearing death.

“… the authority to provide a hastened death will be conferred on physicians, many of whom lack the skills to care for patients nearing death.”

To be clear, dying badly in Canada will rarely be the fallout of not having access to a lethal overdose or injection. Almost invariably, it will be the result of inadequate or substandard end-of-life care. With the clock ticking, the time is now for physicians to learn how to look after their patients until the very end.

The Supreme Court felt patients needed to be offered more choices. By adding doctor-assisted suicide into the mix, what options will dying patients in Canada actually have?

For 70 to 80 per cent of Canadians, palliative care is not available and hence, not a real choice. A dear friend of mine recently died of brain cancer. She spent her final months in hospice, where she received exquisite end-of-life care. She died comfortably, and in as much peace as can be found by someone having to leave this world far too soon.

In the future, how might this kind of scenario play itself out in the many Canadian settings that do not have adequate palliative care? There, the choices will come down to settling for sub-optimal care; dislocating from friends and family to seek out better care elsewhere; or, if one is so inclined, considering medically hastened death.

We are about to become a country that extends patients the right to a hastened death, but offers no legislative guarantees or assurances they will be well looked after until they die.

Federal and provincial governments will need to make substantive investments in hospice and palliative care in order to offer patients and families choices that are equitable, compassionate and real.

While autonomy has driven the right-to-die agenda, fear has been its engine. Now policy makers will need to grapple with how to draw a circle around autonomy, which means determining for whom and under what conditions medically hastened death will be permitted. Establishing those boundaries has implications for who will feel more or less afraid, who will feel more or less valued and who will anticipate death with more or less sense of calm.

Of this we can be sure: The width of that circle and the stability of its diameter will profoundly influence the culture of caring for dying Canadians, and those amongst us who are most vulnerable, for generations to come.