Dr. Dick Smith, seen in a photo from a CBC profile of his career when he retired in 2019, died via medical assistance in death on Tuesday after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 80. A Winnipeg doctor hopes his legacy of providing health care to LGBTQ patients — one of only a few local physicians doing so at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis — extends beyond his life.
Smith played a key role in founding the Village Clinic, which became Nine Circles Community Health Centre. "Whether it was internalized homophobia or whether it was a genuine shunning while I was in medical school, I had a very emotionally traumatic time, and from that came my tenacity not to give up on this job," he said. "So that turned out, strangely, to be good."He was further propelled toward LGBTQ health care and activism when he met his husband Doug Arrell. They came out together.
Jim Kane spoke with Faith Fundal about what type of legacy Dr. Dick Smith leaves behind after dying from medical assisted in dying. He nominated Dr. Smith for an order of Manitoba and he received that this past August. "If Manitoba Health wasn't funding something, it came out of his own pocket until such time policy changed. He has been a trailblazer."Roger Tam, a pharmacist at Our Own Health Centre, was a collaborator with Smith at the clinic in the past decade.
That illuminates why one of his final messages to the public underscored how the fight for human rights must continue with each generation, he said.
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