Howard Bergman, former Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and now Assistant Dean, International Affairs, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Professor of Family Medicine, Medicine (Geriatrics) and Oncology and in the School of Population and Global Health, has been named Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Québec (Knight of the Quebec National Order), the highest distinction awarded by the Quebec government.
Dr. Bergman was inducted on Wednesday, June 21, at a ceremony in the Legislative Council Chamber of the Parliament Building at 2 p.m.
“On June 21, Quebec will pay a more than deserved tribute to these 34 great men and women. Their careers and their exceptional contributions in various fields remain a source of inspiration and pride for all of Quebec. It will be a great pleasure to present them, on behalf of the people of Quebec, with these insignia. »
François Legault, Prime Minister of Quebec
About Howard Bergman
Dr. Howard Bergman is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS). He is also a Fellow of both the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
In 2022, the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) honoured Dr. Bergman with the W. Victor Johnston Award which recognizes a renowned Canadian or international family medicine leader for continuous and enduring contributions to the specialty of family medicine in Canada and abroad. The Canadian Geriatrics Society honoured him with the Ronald Cape Distinguished Service Award. He was the recipient of the Irma M. Parhad Award for Excellence for outstanding contributions to the understanding and treatment of patients suffering from cognitive disorders by The Consortium of Canadian Centres for Clinical Cognitive Research (C5R).
From 2012 to 2019, he served as Chair of the Department of Family Medicine. He was the inaugural Dr. Joseph Kaufmann Chair in Geriatric Medicine from 2001 to 2015 and from 1993 to 2009, Director of Geriatric Medicine, McGill University. In 2001-2002, he was acting Physician-in-Chief and Chief of Medicine at the Jewish General Hospital (JGH). From 2009 to 2011, Dr. Bergman was Vice-President, Scientific Affairs of the Fonds de la recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ), the Quebec health research funding organization.
In 2021, Dr. Bergman was named one of the 24 members of the World Dementia Council.
Dr. Bergman is internationally recognized in academic, political and government circles for his research and health policy work on primary care, integrated care, frailty, dementia, and chronic disease, with over 195 peer-reviewed publications and numerous reports and book chapters.
From 1999 to 2002, he was one of two principal investigators in the development and evaluation of the SIPA model of integrated care for the very frail elderly population. The SIPA project has had a considerable influence on the evolution of services for the elderly in Quebec, Canada and internationally and continues to be a reference.
In 2000-2001, Dr. Bergman was a member of the “Clair Commission”, the independent commission set up by the Quebec government to propose reforms to the health care system. He is recognized as the “author” of the recommendation on the creation of Family Medicine Groups (GMF, the «Medical Home»).
Appointed by the Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services (MSSS), Dr. Bergman tabled the Quebec Alzheimer’s Plan in 2009. He is working with the MSSS on the implementation of the plan. Dr. Bergman co-created and co-leads the Canadian Team for Health Services and Systems Improvement in Dementia (ROSA Research Group), which is dedicated to evaluating and implementing initiatives to improve the capacity of primary care to diagnose and treat person’s with Alzheimer’s disease and their caregivers. He is the co-founder and was for many years the co-director of the McGill/JGH memory clinic. In 2018, he chaired the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Expert Panel for the Evaluation of Evidence and Best Practices for the Development of the Canadian Dementia Strategy. The panel, convened at the request of the Public Health Agency of Canada, delivered its report in 2019: “Improving Quality of Life and Care for People Living with Dementia and their Caregivers.”
In 2010, Dr. Bergman was a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Expert Panel on Improving Chronic Disease Outcomes through Health System Transformation. In 2017, he was a member the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on the Transportation Needs of an Aging Population. Dr. Bergman led a group of Canadian and international investigators in the Canadian Initiative on Frailty and Ageing leading to 30 peer-reviewed publications. In 2010, he chaired the Initiative and authored the report for the Development of a Personalized Medicine Strategy for Quebec, bringing together academia, industry, and government.
He is an adjunct professor at the Department of Health Management, Evaluation and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Montreal and Distinguished Professor at the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences of the University of Lille in France. He is also an adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Center for Healthy Longevity and Aging Sciences at Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. He is a member of the external advisory board of the Johns Hopkins University Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC). He was recently appointed to the Expert Committee of Health and Sustainable Development of the Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia. He is on the Advisory Board of the journal of the Japan Medical Association and the Japanese Association of Medical Sciences.
Dr. Bergman is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institut national d’excellence en santé et en services sociaux du Québec (the Quebec NICE). He is a consultant to health authorities and universities in Canada and abroad. In 2008 and again in 2019, Dr. Bergman was invited by the Singapore Ministry of Health for two-week missions as a foreign expert in family medicine, primary care and continuity of care, with a focus on care of the elderly.
When Dean David Eidelman announced his appointment in 2012 as chair of McGill’s Department of Family Medicine, he wrote, “A professor of family medicine, medicine and oncology, Dr. Bergman is widely recognized as a force for change in the health sciences community.”