Nominated and selected by his peers, Dr. Roussin has made an exceptional contribution to the medical community and to the people of Manitoba in his first year as Manitoba’s chief public health officer. He could not have known a global pandemic would happen just months after taking on the role.

In this year of uncertainty, he has been the most regular, public face of the profession this past year, offering unwavering, clear and consistent messaging to the Manitoba population. He has shown his ability to balance the needs and requests of government leadership with the request of the leadership responsible for the actual medical management for the pandemic. Balancing the imperative to slow the spread of COVID, with the reality of how those same actions can create unintended consequences to the physical and mental health, and economic well-being of Manitobans.

All physicians are trained to weigh risks and benefits an individual level with patients. Dr. Roussin has had to do this for over a year now and it’s not a task he takes lightly. In addition to his family medicine background, he holds a Masters in Public Health and a law degree. Dr. Roussin has continued to see patients in his family medicine practice as much as possible during the pandemic.

The Committee was impressed Dr. Kesselman’s years of service and his dedication to the most ill and impoverished children in Manitoba and Nunavut. He is a well-regarded mentor, when he is not doing amazing things in pediatric critical care, emergency care and northern/​remote pediatrics.

He teaches in the Postgraduate and Undergraduate Programs in the Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. His overseas medical volunteering has been disrupted by the pandemic, but he still conducts weekly ZOOM sessions with a group of Pediatric Intensivist trainees in Cambodia.

Dr. Crockett, the former Section Head of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, is described as an ​“outstanding clinical and research leader who has nurtured and developed transcontinental healthcare initiatives for children.”

She has worked on humanitarian responses around the world, including in Albania, Kosovo and Mozambique and ongoing work to improve care in India and Pakistan.

Closer to home, she works as a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Children’s Hospital and is Director of Research and Knowledge Translation at the Institute for Global Public Health at the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Heather Watson is completing her residency in a rotating year of addictions, mental illness and reproductive health in Winnipeg’s inner city.

She has been a strong advocate for resident wellness, but she was singled out particularly for her commitment to improving health and access for marginalized women. In fact, she has created her own fellowship in this exact area: ​“psycho-social obstetrics and gynecology”. She has brought this expertise to help in the current COVID-19 situation too.

Dr. Wyant works with vulnerable populations at Aikins Street Community Health Centre, where she is the site medical lead. She brings her expertise in trauma-informed care to her panel of patients and is a champion of team-based care. She has been pulled into the COVID response for vulnerable patients and inner-city residents, including supervising testing downtown. She is also appointed as a lecturer with the University of Manitoba and is actively involved in teaching medical students and physician assistant students.

The Burnett medical couple are pillars in the rural medical community. Their love story began when they met in medical school in Scotland. After spending time in the Republic of Congo and Albania, they settled in Manitoba. Now based in Niverville, they have built a holistic medicine practice. This past year has been trying, but the Burnetts have continued their commitment to their patients.

Dr. Serletis is an epilepsy and pediatric neurosurgeon, and a scientist specializing in neuroengineering. He has spearheaded the formation of a collaborative multidisciplinary team that has developed a proposal for comprehensive pediatric and adult epilepsy services, and serves as Director of Epilepsy Surgery. 

This work builds on his advocacy and leadership that led to the opening of the first pediatric epilepsy monitoring unit in Manitoba, and the advancement of epilepsy neurosurgical cases in the province. His work has also helped with the successful recruitment of other specialists to Manitoba. Dr. Serletis is also a researcher at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, and serves as the Residency Program Director for Neurosurgery.

The leadership team from Cadham Lab is a special 4^th recipient of this award. This team has overseen the lab specimen processing, including the use of private labs, during the pandemic. They have come up with innovative solutions to worldwide shortages in lab supplies and worked to speed up turnaround times.

Dr. Paul van Caeseele, Medical Director of Cadham Provincial Laboratory. He is also a travel health specialist with the WRHA, pediatric infectious disease consultant at Children’s Hospital and a Professor with the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Jared Bullard is the Associate Medical Director at Cadham,and he is also the Section Head for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and an Associate Professor with the University.

Dr. Kerry Dust is not a medical doctor, but this PhD scientist is a critical part of the leadership at Cadham. A scientist specializing in medical microbiology and infectious diseases, she plays a key role in the virus detection department at Cadham. 

It’s not often that Doctors Manitoba honours someone outside of the medical community with one of our awards, but her contributions at Cadham during this pandemic have helped physicians across this province, making her deserving of both our gratitude and our formal recognition.