Nazira Jaffer, Dr. Naheed Dosani and Rick Firth.
The recipient of the 2024 Dr. S. Lawrence Librach Award for Palliative Medicine in the Community is Dr. Naheed Dosani.
Dr. Naheed Dosani is a Palliative Care Physician at the department of Family and Community Medicine through St. Michael’s Hospital, the Medical Director and Clinical Health Equity Lead at Kensington Hospice, is the Health Equity Advisor at the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, and is a Family Physician at the FCJ Refugee Center through the Inner-City Health Associates.
Naheed founded PEACH – Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless – where he created a space for health equity and has cared for thousands of structurally vulnerable people. In redefining the meaning of “home,” he ensured support for patients to chose where they die.
He developed a training program entitled “Palliative Care in the Inner City: Integrating Social Accountability and Clinical Care for Marginalized Populations” to provide specialized tools to other healthcare professionals. He actively supervises research by students, and contributes to professional medical research. His relentless pursuit of excellence, and his commitment to education, mentorship, and patient advocacy are aligned with Dr. Librach’s philosophies.
Dr. S. Lawrence Librach Award for Palliative Medicine in the Community is presented annually to a physician who demonstrates excellence and leadership in palliative care and advances palliative care in their communities through mentorship of family physicians.
The award was created to honour Dr. Larry Librach who began his medical career in 1970 and became an early presence in the field of palliative care. Dr. Librach was instrumental in shaping the Canadian approach to palliative care and palliative medicine. Throughout his 35 years in palliative care, Dr. Librach was a teacher and mentor, and an encouraging and enthusiastic colleague and friend who embraced every opportunity to give of himself, and who consistently inspired others to do the same.
The award was presented at our Awards Gala on June 10, 2024, which occurred during our Annual Conference. The 2024 conference theme was Palliative Care Everywhere. Building on the 2023 conference theme of Now is the Time, Palliative Care Everywhere underscores the importance of a palliative approach to care being available in all settings where people die. Despite the progress we have made, many people do not have equitable access to quality, integrated, patient-centred, sustainable hospice palliative care services. Whether at home, in hospice, in long-term care, in hospital, group homes, prisons, shelters, or unhoused, palliative care must be available in all settings and for all people.
Read more about HCPO2024 and the Awards Gala.
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