The Vancouver Medical Staff Hall of Honour (VCH): Remember the heroes of the past
The Vancouver Medical Staff Hall of Honour of Vancouver Coastal Health was created, with the approval of the hospital administration, to commemorate both the 110th anniversary of the Vancouver General Hospital (2016), and the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation (2017). Although it is appreciated that all health care professionals at VGH and its allied institutions have provided outstanding service since 1906, the intention of the Vancouver Community of Care Medical, Dental, and Allied Staff Association (VMDAS) is to recognize and honor those who have provided exceptional leadership and dedicated clinical/academic service that has profoundly benefited the residents of BC as well as advanced the practice of medicine/surgery in this province. In doing so, the Hall’s inductees have brought great distinction and honor to VGH and its allied institutions.
In the inaugural induction ceremony, held at VGH in February 2018, the inaugural members of the Hall were:
Dr Wallace B. Chung, CM, OBC – Professor emeritus of Surgery, UBC, former head of General and Vascular Surgery, UBC Hospital.
Dr Felix Durity, OBC – Professor emeritus of Neurosurgery, UBC, former head of Neurosurgery, VGH.
Dr Robert E. McKechnie, CBE – acclaimed pioneering surgeon, VGH, and longest-serving UBC chancellor.
Dr Sheldon (Shelly) Naiman (1937–2016) – BC’s first clinical hematologist and first head of Hematology, VGH.
Dr George Fredrick (Fritz) Strong (1897–1957) – former chief of medicine, VGH, and creator of the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Hospital.
Dr Donald Paty, MSM (civil division) (1936–2004) – pioneer in multiple sclerosis and former head of Neurology, UBC.
The VCH Hall of Honour is physically located on the main floor of the Jim Pattison Pavilion, VGH, and was unveiled prior to the annual VMDAS awards ceremony at the end of June 2018. The Hall is the first of its kind in Western Canada and, along with the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in London, Ontario, is one of the few of its kind in the country. It is hoped that the Hall and its inducted members will be a source of inspiration to physicians, surgeons, and allied health care professionals in the years to come.
—Eric M. Yoshida, OBC, MD, FRCPC
Hall of Honour Committee Chair
—Marshall Dahl, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Past Chair VMDAS
—Stephen Nantel, MD, FRCPC
Hall of Honour Committee Member
—Jennifer Laxamana
Administrative Assistant, VMDAS
—Simon W. Rabkin, MD, FRCPC
Chair VMDAS
[L-R] Drs Simon Rabkin, Eric Yoshida, and Stephen Nantel inside the VCH Hall of Honour.