U of S researcher part of public service award
Dr. Ivar Mendez of the University of Saskatchewan earned national recognition for his work this week
By University CommunicationsMendez was part of a Health Canada team that was honoured with a Canadian Public Service Award of Excellence for its work with remote presence robot technology used to help diagnose patients in isolated areas of Newfoundland and Labrador. The team was one of 238 recipients honoured Thursday in Ottawa by Governor General David Johnston and Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick.
The project employed Dr. Mendez’s techniques with the help of robot designer InTouch Health to deliver basic health care in Nain, N.L., where there are no doctors on site.
Nurse Debra Keays-White, who heads Health Canada’s Atlantic region programs for First Nations and Inuit health, was quick to praise Dr. Mendez, the unified head of the Department of Surgery at the U of S and Saskatoon Health Region.