Dr. José Pereira’s work will help improve care and attract world-class experts
Durham Region – Queen’s University and Lakeridge Health have appointed Dr. José Pereira as the inaugural Dr. Gillian Gilchrist Research Chair in Palliative Care. His appointment is for a five-year period.
The Dr. Gilchrist Chair in Palliative Care is the first fully funded academic Research Chair in Palliative Care at a community hospital in Canada. It honors the work of Dr. Gillian Gilchrist who founded the Palliative Care program at Lakeridge Health in 1981, and was made possible through $2.5 million generously donated by Debbie and Dr. Hak-Ming Chiu.
“Dr. Pereira is recognized as a national leader in Palliative Care and through his work with Pallium Canada and Cancer Care Ontario, has been a major driving force behind the improvement of primary-level Palliative Care across Canada,” says Lakeridge Health President and CEO Matthew Anderson. “Dr. Pereira is extremely passionate about Palliative Care and has devoted much of his career to generously sharing his knowledge and expertise with others. I can think of no one more suited to helping us take this new step forward in health care research with our partners Queen’s University.”
The Dr. Gillian Gilchrist Research Chair in Palliative Care at Lakeridge Health is funded through a $2.5 million endowment created and managed by Queen’s University. A research chair is a professor who is a leading expert in their field who helps pioneer new and important areas of research for universities. Research chairs make groundbreaking discoveries and transform scientific thinking, clinical practice and health care policy.
“From a humble family doctor to a Canadian authority in palliative care medicine, Dr. Pereira’s personal story is an inspiration to students and practitioners alike," says Dr. Richard Reznick, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen's University. "Queen’s celebrates this unique chair with its partner Lakeridge Health and looks forward to transformative change in palliative medicine in the Durham Region, and beyond, through Dr. Pereira’s work."
“Dr. Pereira will help deepen our knowledge of Palliative Care and improve the quality of life for more patients and their families in our community,” adds Dr. George Buldo, Vice President of Academic and Medical Affairs at Lakeridge Health.
Palliative Care focuses on improving quality of life for people with serious illness and helps them better cope with some of the side effects of their treatment. It helps provide comfort to people at any stage of illness including end of life by giving them relief from symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea and depression.
“I feel very honoured to have been selected as the Gilchrist Research Chair in Palliative Care at Lakeridge Health and Queen’s University,” said Dr. Pereira. “I believe that all Canadians should have access to Palliative Care. I will start working with clinical, research and administrative colleagues to build a research program that will map out the level of access in Durham Region to various Palliative Care and hospice services and to identify opportunities to strengthen that access even further. I hope to work closely with the team of physicians who are already providing excellent Palliative Care and Palliative Care education in this region to increase our Palliative Care education efforts so that one day all health care professionals across different professions and settings of care across the region will be able to initiate a Palliative Care approach early.”
About Dr. José Pereira
Dr. Pereira graduated from the University of Pretoria with his Doctor of Medicine in 1987, and then earned his Diploma in Anesthesiology at the College of Medicine in South Africa, graduating in 1991. He subsequently completed the Cantel Overton Clinical and Research Fellowship in Palliative Medicine in 1996, followed by a Family Medicine residency, both at the University of Alberta. In 2007, he completed his Master of Science in Medical Education at the University of Calgary.
Dr. Pereira currently holds a number of prestigious appointments within his field of work. He serves as Chief Scientific Officer for Pallium Canada, an organization that he co-founded in 2001 with the mission of improving primary-level palliative care across Canada. He holds academic appointments in the Departments of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa and McMaster University. He is also Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of Portugal and the University of Navarra in Spain and is a Board Member for the African Palliative Care Association. In 2016, Dr. Pereira was appointed Director of Research for the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and this will continue to be a major part of this work.
Dr. Pereira currently holds a clinical appointment as a Palliative Care Physician Consultant for the William Osler Health Services Brampton Civic Hospital. He previously held appointments as Head of the Division of Palliative Care at the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital, and Medical Chief of Palliative Care Services for Bruyère Continuing Care in Ottawa. Dr. Pereira led the establishment of the Champlain LHIN Regional Palliative Care Program in 2009, the first regional palliative care program in Ontario. Dr. Pereira was the Provincial Lead of the Palliative Care Program for Cancer Care Ontario from 2011-2013.
Dr. Pereira has received several prestigious awards recognizing him for his outstanding dedication and achievements to his work in family medicine and palliative care. In 2002, he received the Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee Medal and the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association's Award of Excellence. In 2006, he was awarded the Canadian Hospice Palliative Association's Award of Leadership. In 2012, Dr. Pereira received both the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Ontario Medical Association's Annual Award of Excellence. Most recently, he was awarded the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) Continuing Professional Development Program 2016 Award for the Pallium LEAP interprofessional courses.
For more information contact:
Lakeridge Health Communications
T. 905.576.8711 extension 4317
communications@lakeridgehealth.on.ca
