Nine physicians and one community group awarded
Doctors Nova Scotia’s annual Strive Award, which includes a $10,000 grant for a chosen health-promotion initiative, was awarded to Leave Out Violence (LOVE). The Halifax-based organization works to support youth who have experienced violence. LOVE runs a number of programs, including media arts and leadership training, in Halifax, Dartmouth and the First Nations communities of Sipekne’katik and Membertou. LOVE was a Strive Award finalist in 2014 and 2015.
“The Strive Award will go toward LOVE Nova Scotia’s regional Leadership Retreat, which will bring together LOVE youth from HRM, Sipekne’katik, and Membertou,” said Jaime Forsythe, grant writer and program facilitator. “A gathering of this type goes a long way toward contributing to the social determinants of health of our youth. This includes the formation of positive peer support groups, strengthened social support networks, development of skills, confidence and coping strategies, and improved mental health outcomes.”
This year, Doctors Nova Scotia honoured nine physicians for exemplary achievement. The physicians received their awards at the association’s annual conference on June 3 in Halifax.
Dr. Romesh Shukla receives the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his achievements as an anesthesiologist. Dr. Shukla has practised as an anesthesiologist for 34 years; he is currently head of the Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management and Perioperative Medicine for the Nova Scotia Health Authority. He is a Past-President of Doctors Nova Scotia.
Dr. Pippa Moss is a child and adolescent psychiatrist who is being recognized for her work providing specialized autism assessment services in the rural communities in and around Amherst, Truro, New Glasgow, and Sydney, N.S. Dr. Moss’s expertise and advocacy have been recognized nationwide; she is a Distinguished Fellow of the Canadian Psychiatric Association and is currently in her second term as president of the Nova Scotia Psychiatric Association.
Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed, Deputy Medical Officer of Health for Nova Scotia, has been awarded the Dr. William Grigor Award in recognition of her work to improve the health of all Nova Scotians. “Public health is fully multidisciplinary,” said Dr. Watson-Creed, who says she is perhaps most proud of her recent work on the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on a Healthy and Livable Halifax. But it’s early days yet – Dr. Watson-Creed has a long career ahead of her. “Public health is all about starting, not about finishing. The work we’re doing is a long-term project.”
Dr. Keri-Leigh Cassidy is a professor of geriatric psychiatry at Dalhousie University and the clinical academic director of the Dalhousie University/NSHA Geriatric Psychiatry Program. She receives the Doctors Nova Scotia Physician Health Promotion award in recognition of her work in leading the Fountain of Health Initiative, a national effort to promote brain health and resilience. Dr. Cassidy is a recognized national expert in late-life mood and anxiety disorders and in psychotherapy, having developed an evidence-based group psychotherapy treatment approach for late-life depression and anxiety disorders. She was also the recipient of the 2016 Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry Outstanding Contributions to Geriatric Psychiatry Award.
Dr. Alexander Allen receives the Senior Membership Award in recognition of his 50-year career as a neonatologist at the Grace Hospital and IWK Health Centre. Dr. Allen spent 38 years as a practising academic clinician; following his retirement in 2003, Dr. Allen has been committed to neonatal-perinatal medicine research. In the half-century that he has been working in the field, Dr. Allen has contributed to a major improvement in the lives of newborn babies.
Dr. Rolland Genge receives the Senior Membership Award in recognition of his long career as a family physician. He practiced family medicine in Stephenville, Nfld., for four years following his graduation from Dalhousie Medical School in 1971, then moved to Cape Breton in 1975. “My most cherished accomplishment has been the opportunity to advocate on behalf of my patients,” he said. “I consider it a privilege to be someone who has been in a position to make a difference for my patients.”
Dr. Ronald Hatheway, a community cardiologist in Bridgewater, N.S., is being honoured with the CMA Honorary Membership Award in recognition of his service to patients and cardiology. Following seven years in general practice in British Columbia, Dr. Hatheway has been working for 30 years as a cardiologist – fulfilling a lifelong passion. Dr. Hatheway was instrumental in setting up an echocardiography lab and heart health clinics on the south shore of Nova Scotia, making it easier for patients to get the care they needed closer to home.
Dr. Elizabeth Mann receives the CMA Honorary Membership Award in honour of her 37-year career as a general internist in Halifax, working with patients at the VG Hospital, the QEII, and for a short time at the North End Community Health Centre. Dr. Mann has held numerous leadership roles, and served as president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (CPSNS) from 2012 to 2014. Retirement has allowed her to spend more time with her family and friends but, not wanting to leave medicine behind entirely, she has maintained her involvement with the CPSNS.
Dr. John A. Sullivan receives the CMA Honorary Membership Award in recognition of a long career as a cardiovascular surgeon in Nova Scotia. He has spent almost 40 years performing life-saving heart surgeries for countless Nova Scotians, and is renowned for performing the first heart transplant in the province, in 1988. Dr. Sullivan is a Past-President of Doctors Nova Scotia; he is also a director for the Maritime Heart Center (a registered charity), a founding member and past-president of the Atlantic Vascular Society and a past-president of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.
Photos and additional information available upon request.