In Ste. Rose du Lac, a physician has been quietly going about his business for decades, supporting his community and those across Manitoba with his care, advocacy and broad scope of work. Dr. David O’Hagan is celebrating his 40th year as a doctor in Ste. Rose, and the community is celebrating, too.
In the 1980’s, Dr. O’Hagan began working in Ste. Rose Health Centre alongside the Grey Nuns. Taught by the Sisters that compassion and care mattered most of all, he was known to deliver breakfasts to patient and sit with them for a morning visit. As a physician in a small town, his role and involvement with families has run the gamut.
From bringing babies into the world, to accompanying someone in their final days, and every possible medical scenario in between, Dr. O’Hagan has been a part of the lives of multiple generations of residents in the area.
His contributions made their way far beyond the Prairie Mountain Health Region. He was deeply invested in making the Physician Assistant program a success in Manitoba, and also served as Director of the Parkland Family Medicine Residency Unit for many years, where he helped guide new physicians as they completed their last rounds of formal training. Over 180 residents that passed through these programs are now working as physicians across Canada.
Named the Family Physician of the Year for 2001, Dr. O’Hagan has always been quick to share accolades with the team in Ste. Rose. “It has been an honour and a privilege to have worked with great colleagues over the years as well as fine nursing,” he recently shared with staff at Ste. Rose Health Centre. “Teamwork is essential and all have contributed passionately to the high quality, compassion medical care expected by the communities we serve. I am so grateful to the dedicated nurses and aides who carry out hands-on care and compassion to their patients. Plus, we’ve been very well supported by lab staff, pharmacy staff, medical records staff, admin staff, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), therapy services and maintenance, as well as dietary.”
Dr. O’Hagan graduated from Cape Town University in South Africa in 1977, and when the injustices of apartheid disillusioned the doctor, he sought out a Locum position in southern Saskatchewan. After deciding that Canada was for him, and realizing that Manitoba would accept his credentials for full licensing, he began to tour communities in the keystone province. He signed on with Ste. Rose Health Centre in 1985.
After forty years, the community is certainly his home now. “Ste. Rose has been a perfect fit for my family and I for the last 40 years, on many levels,” he shares. “The work, while challenging and seemingly endless, is professionally rewarding and fulfilling. The community has accepted us and respected the boundaries that working in the medical profession entails. The years have flown by quickly!”
As Dr. O’Hagan celebrates his 40th career anniversary in Ste. Rose, he’s let his intentions be known: “This isn’t a retirement, despite the rumours!” He looks forward to continuing his medical proactive for a few more years as he makes more time and space for his family, which now includes two new grandchildren.
The Ste. Rose du Lac Health Centre thanks the good doctor for all he’s done, and all he’s still left to do!