Dr. José François has been named the 2024 Physician of the Year by Doctors Manitoba. He is the academic and clinical lead for family medicine with the University of Manitoba and Shared Health, and the creator of a Bilingual Family Medicine Residency Program, all while maintaining his own practice at the Centre de santé Saint-Boniface. He’s known as “the face of Family Medicine in Manitoba.”
While his colleagues at Centre de santé Saint-Boniface are proud of Dr. François for receiving the award, they’re certainly not surprised.
“Honestly, it shocks me that it’s taken this long for him to be recognized,” shares Dr. Michelle Grzybowski, the Medical Lead at the health centre. “When you look at his resume, and all that he has accomplished, plus how much he values the relationships he has with his patients…it was time.”
Dr. Grzybowski is among several doctors serving the francophone community in Manitoba that share credit with Dr. François for their career path. “He first recruited me when I was working on my bachelor of science at Université de Saint-Boniface,” she remembers. “He followed my progress through my time at the University of Ottawa and encouraged me to work in French. The bilingual residency program he created has produced directors and specialty leads across the province. Besides that, he’s truly been an extraordinary colleague and mentor to so many of us.”
Nicole Cazemayor, Primary Care Manager at Centre de santé Saint-Boniface, has been working with Dr. François on and off for over a decade. “I first met him as a patient, but then I worked with him during my time at Santé en français and St. Boniface Hospital,” she says. “If there was a chance to improve healthcare services in French, you knew he’d be involved.”
Stéphanie Roy, Executive Director of the Centre de santé Saint-Boniface, is grateful for his deep knowledge of family medicine, but also admires his commitment to improvement. “He always wants to make things better, on a small and large scale,” she shares. “He asks what else we can do, how we can change the system, what strategy we can employ to make a lasting difference. He pushes all of us to be better and to think of ways for everything to be better for our clients.”
Besides his drive and dedication, his colleagues share that he’s also lovely to work with. “His office is in a high-traffic area in the clinic, and he always takes the time to ask how you’re doing,” shares Roy. “He’s genuinely interested in each of us; he’s a very approachable person who’s kind and gentle with his patients and his colleagues. I genuinely don’t know how he finds the time to do it all!”
Réseau Compassion Network and Centre de santé Saint-Boniface send a huge congratulations and un gros merci to Dr. José François for his contributions to health care in Manitoba!