Northern Connections Medical Centre (NCMC) was recognized with the Gary Beazley Patients Medical Home Award
Department of Family Medicine recognized by Manitoba College of Family Physicians
Each year, the Manitoba College of Family Physicians (MCFP) recognizes outstanding physicians from across the province. This year, the Department of Family Medicine at the Max Rady College of Medicine was represented in a wide variety of categories, from individual awards to recognition for a clinic site that hosts the department’s northern stream.
“This department is home to many excellent physicians,” said Department Head Dr. José François. “It was a proud moment to see so many of them recognized for the work they do every day, providing excellent primary care in the community and showing leadership to the next generation of family doctors.”
Dr. Scott Kish was awarded the Manitoba Family Physician of the Year Award for 2018. This honour recognizes an outstanding physician who embodies the principles of family medicine, which includes not only excellence as a patient-centred clinician, but also a commitment to community.
Kish began his practise in Dauphin, Manitoba as a resident in the Parkland Training program. “Anyone who goes through the resident matching program knows that you can end up anywhere,” said Kish with a laugh. He didn’t know Dauphin when he arrived, but he quickly fell in love with the community. “It’s where I chose to raise my own family, Dauphin is home.”
With more than 17 years of service to the residents of the Parkland region, he has seen community members through every stage from birth through to end-of-life care. Kish has also played an important role as a teacher, precepting family medicine residents in the Parkland Residency Training program throughout his career. As a member of the department of family medicine, Kish served as assistant director and ultimately unit director for the teaching site, in addition to his role as chief of staff at the Dauphin hospital.
In all of these roles, he has provided leadership skills and mentorship to the physician and non-physician team members, providing guidance and empowering them to be the best teachers they can be. He is known for his gentle manner, great sense of humor and compassion.
“He’s very deserving of this award,” said François, as Kish’s name was announced at the April 20 banquet honouring this year’s recipients. A standing ovation from the crowd and cheers supported the sentiment. “It’s an honour, for sure, and a surprise as well because I wasn’t aware that I was nominated!” said Kish.
At the same event, Northern Connections Medical Centre (NCMC) was recognized with the Gary Beazley Patients Medical Home Award for 2018.
This award honours a clinic that embodies the pillars of the Primary Care Medical Home, including access to care, interprofessional teams, quality improvement, patient centered care and comprehensive services.
NCMC serves as the home of the northern remote stream of the family medicine residency program and offers care across the life cycle, with a focus on mental health and addictions medicine, LGBTQ2 health, teen health, public health and indigenous health care. They have devoted resources to addressing specific health issues including the opiate problem, treatment resistant TB, chronic pain and homelessness.
As a training site for residents who will provide care to residents of northern Manitoba, NCMC is critical in building a network of committed health care providers geared to ensuring ready access to services for vulnerable communities.
Additional awards included the Award of Excellence, presented to Dr. Katherine Kearns, the Award of Excellence Group Award, presented to Drs. Leah Koetting, Adrian Fung and Rafiq Andani, as well as the IMG Mentor Award, which went to Dr. Amin Mousavi.