Breakfast and updates from Winchester District Memorial Hospital

 “I enjoy what I do very much,” said Dr. Suru Chande. “I will admit that I am not a morning person, but once I am on the road, on the way to work, I am always looking forward to the day ahead.”

Father of three, grandfather of three, for over 40 years, Dr. Chande has served the South Dundas regions both at the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic. Morrisburg, and at Winchester District Memorial Hospital. 

In late December of 2011, his dedication to medicine was recognized at WDMH with a Long-Term Service Award.

“We are incredibly fortunate that a surgeon of Dr. Chande’s calibre has devoted his career to caring for the patients in this area. It represents a more than 40 year commitment to serving our community,” said Cholly Boland, CEO of Winchester Hospital. 

On Wednesday, February 8, after a typically very busy day, Dr. Chande sat down to reflect on a long career devoted to caring for others. 

He was born in a small community in Tanzania, receiving most of his high school education in that country. He took his medical training at Birmingham University, one of the largest universities in England. 

“Back in the 60’s and 70’s, there were limited spots in specialty training in England, and the process often took a number of years,” Dr. Chande recalled. “It seemed a good idea to come to Canada to do my residency.”

Dr. Chande received his FRCSE (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh) in 1968 and his FRCSC  (Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada) in 1971.

“I am called a general surgeon,” he explained. “The term general surgery has no definite meaning, unlike terms such as cardiac surgeon or neuro-surgeon. Doctors of my vintage, trained as general surgeons, definitely gained a fairly extensive repertoire because we have always been called on to do many different types of surgery.” 

Dr. Chande was completing his residency at Ottawa Civic Hospital when he decided to reply to an ad in a medical journal from the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic. 

The clinic was started in 1960 by doctors Gerry Rosenquist and Don Robertson. In 1971, Dr. Chande recalls, they were looking to replace a doctor who was leaving. Chande and his wife, Dr. Ann Chande, came to Morrisburg, looked at the area, and decided to sign with the St. Lawrence group.

Dr. Chande laughed when I asked him what made his family choose to put down roots in very rural Ontario.

“Well, my home town may have been small, but Dar es Salaam in Tanzania is a huge city, and so is Birmingham. Frankly, to me, Ottawa seemed little. But we found we loved the small town life in South Dundas. It was easy to make friends within the medical community. We could send our kids to school here, since we were big believers in the public school system. 

And I love to play golf and tennis, and it’s much easier to do those things in South Dundas than in the big city.  

The doctors at the Clinic are amazing people. If they have left here before retirement, it has never been due to medical issues, but for personal reasons. They love being here in this area.”

In forty years serving this region, Chande has seen a number of changes in the medical profession, and in the actual Winchester Memorial Hospital. 

The  building additions to WDMH and the professional growth of its staff, as well as its transition to a teaching hospital with university affiliations have been exciting changes. Laparascopic surgery, for example, is very different from when Dr. Chande began his career.  And regular in-hospital programs for training young doctors have taken Dr. Chande, in the last few years, into another aspect of medicine: teaching. It is an area he has found he truly loves.

“Most of us want to pass on our medical knowledge to students. Teaching is very important; I believe it is vital to introduce young doctors to rural medicine.  And I think that you have to have lived life to be a good physician. 

Life’s experiences shape your views and approaches to medicine,” he added. “We teach young doctors every time we bring them (with the patient’s permission) into the room with us, even when we must give a patient bad news. How else can future doctors learn?” 

Dr. Chande has worked with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the regulatory body of the medical profession. Licensed medical practitioners take courses and seminars throughout their careers to keep abreast of changes and innovations in medicine.

“I am not an inspector,” Dr. Chande explained. “Rather I go out on arranged visits to look at the practices of other doctors. When I visit, I try to create a dialogue to make it a learning experience for both of us.”

This year will mark Dr. Suru Chande’s final year as practicing physician. “I continue to absolutely love what I do,” he said, “but it is time to contemplate retirement.” 

And although he may be retiring in the near future, Dr. Chande remains thoughtful about the direction of medical care in Canada.

“I think the medical profession and the government will have to work very closely together to develop solid, workable medical care for our population. And I think there will never be one ‘magic bullet’ cure for cancer. We will need to find different approaches to different concerns.  We must be realistic about the quality of life as our population ages.”

At the end of the interview, I commented that he has been a vital, much respected member of this community for many years, and his retirement will be keenly felt.

“It’s nice to find that people are going to miss me,” Dr. Suru Chande smiled.

Indeed they will. 

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On January 12th, a winter storm hit the area with freezing temperatures, freezing rain and, of course, snow.

Students woke up to good news on the 12th: a snow day! Schools remained open, but buses were cancelled.

Unfortunately, Friday the 13th proved to be unlucky for those hoping for another snow day. Despite the freezing rain, snow, and poor driving conditions, buses were not cancelled. 

According to the Upper Canada District School Board’s (UCDSB) website: “the UCDSB strives to ensure the safe transportation of children. Ultimately, each parent has the right and legal obligation to protect their child. You may decide to keep your child at home at any time if you feel that it is too risky to have him/her transported to school.”

By mid-morning on the 13th the storm was still going strong and, according to police reports, “SD&G OPP officers responded to a total of 37 traffic/weather related calls for service. The incidents ranged from vehicles in ditches to property damage collisions. Fortunately, no injuries resulted.”

Flashbacks of 1997’s Ice Storm were front and centre in the minds of many local residents, especially when, at 11:54 a.m. on the 13th, the power went out in Morrisburg, Williamsburg, and areas farther north. Iroquois was not affected.

According to John Walsh, a representative for Rideau St. Lawrence Distribution Inc., “the storm caused trees to come down on the main line that feeds Morrisburg.”

The main line belongs to Hydro One and “they repaired the problem.” Hydro power was up and running by 1:31 p.m.

And, on January 17th, children were gifted with another snow day. As of 9:20 a.m., there was still a freezing rain warning in effect for all parts of South Dundas.

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