SHF Tribute Video to Sherrold Haddad:
The Surrey Hospitals Foundation is excited to announce the first year’s recipients of the Sherrold Haddad Excellence in Medicine Award, which is named after the late Surrey business magnate and philanthropist Sherrold Haddad.
The award winners are Dr. Alex Butskiy from Surrey Memorial Hospital’s Regional Head and Neck Oncology Program, and Dr. Ahmad Ashrafi, Regional Division Head and Chief of Thoracic Surgery at SMH. Each physician will receive $40,000 for their respective clinical research projects focused on improving care for patients.
The annual Sherrold Haddad Excellence in Medicine Award is made possible by the generous $1-million gift from the Haddad Family to provide support to exemplary physicians or surgeons at Surrey Memorial Hospital for innovative research projects or clinical endeavours aimed at helping improve patient care.
“Sherrold Haddad was a remarkable and inspirational leader, larger than life, full of charisma, and generous to a fault,” says Harp Dhillon, Board Chair of the Surrey Hospitals Foundation. “Not only was he one of Surrey’s most iconic businessmen best known for bringing the giant Expo 86 Canadian flag to his Guildford-area automotive dealership, he also dedicated much of his time to philanthropy and served as the Chair of the Foundation for five years. We are so grateful to the Haddad Family for their ongoing support and generous gift.”
Dr. Alex Butskiy is a Head and Neck Surgical Oncologist and Reconstructive Surgeon at SMH. He specializes in the surgical treatment of cancers in the head and neck region. He is focused on building a regional surgical program for the care of head and neck oncology patients. His research includes investigations into 3D modeling of bone and soft tissue reconstruction for the head and neck, initiating a clinical trial to test a novel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) device to improve monitoring of reconstructive surgery patients, and leading a clinical research team to enhance cancer treatment outcomes.
Dr. Ahmad Ashrafi is the Regional Division Head of Thoracic Surgery at Surrey Memorial Hospital and leads the thoracic surgery team in a number of clinical research studies aimed at improving surgical techniques, improving patient outcomes, and overall, a better understanding of various thoracic conditions. His current research work includes studies related to video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery lobectomy, minimally invasive esophagectomy, and a multicenter study capturing the national experience in Canada for the treatment of achalasia using peroral endoscopic myotomy.
Sherrold Haddad was one of the legends of the BC automotive industry. With strong roots in Manitoba, the Haddad Family had been in business in Manitoba for over 100 years. He was involved in the auto industry since he helped found Birchwood Motors in 1963. He bought an automotive dealership in the Guildford area of Surrey in the 80s, which became Flag Chev Olds when he bought the giant 85.85-metres-tall Canadian flag from Expo 86 and brought it to his dealership. To this day, the flag remains an iconic Surrey landmark.
As the Chair of the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation for 5 years, Sherrold Haddad’s legacy includes helping to raise more than $10 million for the SMH Children’s Health Centre. He also gave generously towards the ER expansion at SMH.
“Sherrold had always been a generous, gentle soul with a big heart and he had always been such an advocate and supporter of the Surrey Memorial Hospital and the Surrey Hospitals Foundation,” explains Marina Haddad, wife of the late Sherrold Haddad. “I knew he would want his legacy of giving to continue so we decided to make this gift to the Foundation in his name to celebrate excellence in medicine that helps improve patient care in Surrey.”
The Surrey Hospitals Foundation’s Sherrold Haddad Excellence in Medicine Award will be awarded over 10 years to promote excellence among exceptional physicians conducting innovative research that will make significant contributions to improving patient care. Next year, the Foundation plans on collaborating with UBC on the award to take SMH’s clinical research initiatives to the next level.
