College Honours 'Best of the Best' in Family Medicine

Dedication to family medicine improves access to care

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 26 /CNW/ - The College of Family Physicians of Canada's (CFPC) announced today the 2009 Family Physicians of the Year. The Reg L. Perkin Awards recognize ten outstanding family physicians - one from each province - for providing exceptional care to their patients, making meaningful contributions to the health and well-being of their communities, and for dedicating themselves as researchers or educators of future generations of family doctors. Award recipients are nominated by their peers, patients, colleagues, and community leaders.

Canada's Family Physicians of the Year for 2009 are:

    
        -  Dr. Paul Bonisteel, New Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador
        -  Dr. Randy MacKinnon, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
        -  Dr. Lawrence MacNeil, Arichat, Nova Scotia
        -  Dr. John Keddy, Fredericton, New Brunswick
        -  Dr. Jean Maziade, Quebéc City, Québec
        -  Dr. Dona Rae Bowers, Ottawa, Ontario
        -  Dr. Darcy Johnson, Winnipeg, Manitoba
        -  Dr. Keith Ogle, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
        -  Dr. George Gish, Claresholm, Alberta
        -  Dr. John Pawlovich, Fraser Lake, British Columbia
    

"The award recipients are skilled clinicians who are passionate about their profession and the doctor-patient relationship," said Dr. Sarah Kredentser , President of the CFPC. "Many share their passion, knowledge and skill through teaching and mentoring medical students, working tirelessly to encourage the next generation of family doctors. They are to be commended for their dedication to providing quality health care in the communities they serve."

"As diverse as they are, the Family Physicians of the Year all share a commitment to reaching out and making family doctors more accessible," said Dr. Calvin Gutkin , Executive Director and CEO for the CFPC. "They reach out to patients at home and to underserved populations in rural and remote areas. They provide care to immigrants in inner city neighbourhoods, to veterans and the elderly in hospitals and nursing homes, and to penitentiary inmates. They are also active in research, teaching and public health."

This is the 37th year the College has honoured family physicians with this award. It is named in honour of Dr. Reg L. Perkin , CFPC Executive Director from 1985 to 1996. They are given as part of the annual Family Doctor Week in Canada celebration that this year runs from October 26-31, 2009.

The award presentations will be made during a ceremony at the CFPC's annual Family Medicine Forum in Calgary on Saturday, October 31 . The awards are supported by Merck Frosst Canada Inc., Health Canada and the CFPC's Research and Education Foundation.

The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) is the voice of family medicine in Canada . Representing 22,000 members across the country, it is the professional organization responsible for establishing standards for the training, certification and lifelong education of family physicians and for advocating on behalf of the specialty of family medicine, family physicians and their patients. The CFPC accredits postgraduate family medicine training in Canada's 17 medical schools.

Profiles of the 2009 Family Physicians of the Year are provided in the attached Backgrounder document.

More information about the Family Physician of the Year program is available at: http://fpoy.cfpc.ca

(aussi disponible en français)

For further information: an interview or more information please contact: Jayne Johnston, Communications Manager, The College of Family Physicians of Canada, Tel.: [phone] x 303, Mobile: [phone], [email protected]; Geneviève Joly, Consultant, Delta Media Inc., Tel.: [phone], Toll-free: 1-888-473-3582, [email protected]