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SOGC Annual Clinical Meeting, Vancouver, June 22-27, 2006

Exceptional healthcare professionals honoured at 2006 SOGC Regional Awards

Vancouver – Each year, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) presents its prestigious Regional Awards to outstanding Canadian healthcare professionals. Through their leadership and example, these dedicated individuals have enriched the health of their patients and the health of their profession.

This year, the SOGC is pleased to honour the contributions of three exceptional healthcare professionals: Drs. Robert Lotocki, Guy-Paul Gagné, and Eileen Hutton.

“These awards are not about recognizing any single accomplishment,” said SOGC Executive Vice-President Dr. André Lalonde. “These three individuals serve their communities and their patients day in and day out, and it’s a great honour to be able to recognize that.”

Dr. Robert Lotocki is a practicing gynecologic oncologist at Cancer Care in Manitoba, and the head of gynecology at the St. Boniface General Hospital. From 2002-2004, he served as the President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists. As a respected professor in the University of Manitoba’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Lotocki diligently imparts his substantial expertise to the next generation of health care professionals. In addition, Dr. Lotocki is also the medical director of the Manitoba Cervical Cancer Screening Program, an important program charged with increasing the utilization of Pap smear testing in Manitoba. For such noteworthy contributions to improving women’s health, the SOGC is proud to present Dr. Lotocki our Central Regional Award.

This year, the SOGC is pleased to offer the Western Regional Award to Dr. Eileen Hutton, a midwife and clinical epidemiologist. Dr. Hutton has shown tremendous leadership in her dedication to research and education. Her research interests include trial design, twin birth, VBAC, and ECV and fetal presentation. In addition to her role as an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia’s Midwifery Division, Dr. Hutton is the principal applicant to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for Early External Cephalic Version (ECV) 2 Trial and is a co-applicant and member of the steering committee for the Twin Birth study. She completed her Masters in Nursing in 1985, and has recently completed her PhD with a specialty in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Toronto. Her dedication to research and the advancement of the state of knowledge in women’s health makes Dr. Hutton an ideal candidate for the SOGC’s regional awards.

Dr. Guy-Paul Gagné, this year’s Quebec Regional Award winner, has become known for his humanist philosophy of care, emphasizing family and a woman’s autonomy in the decision-making process. Dr. Gagné has considerably contributed to the enhancement and humanization of obstetrical and gynecological care at the Centre hospitalier de Lasalle by introducing the TARP concept (labour, birth, recovery and post-partum) at the Unité familiale des naissance. He has also been very active within the SOGC, and was instrumental in the production of the first-edition of SOGC’s “Healthy Beginnings” guidebook for pregnancy and birth.

In addition, Dr. Gagné has also become known for his diplomacy and ability to resolve conflicts, and played a key role in reaching a trail-blazing agreement between midwives and his birthing unit in Montreal.

The SOGC would like to congratulate this year’s winners and to commend them for their ongoing contributions to women’s health. The regional award winners will be honoured at the SOGC awards ceremony on June 26, 2006, as part of the 2006 Annual Clinical Meeting in Vancouver.

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About The SOGC:

The SOGC is one of Canada’s oldest national specialty organizations. Established in 1944, the Society’s mission is to promote excellence in the practice of obstetrics and gynaecology and to advance the health of women through leadership, advocacy, collaboration, outreach and education. The SOGC represents obstetricians/gynaecologists, family physicians, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals in the field of sexual reproductive health.

 

Last Updated April 19, 2007