BARRHEAD - Four former Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) students are among the latest to benefit from Dr. Bireswar Bose's legacy.
Earlier this summer, the Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxillary presented Reece Gravel, Ella Homeak, Amy Donkers and Zoe Kaplan with the Dr. B. Bose Nursing Scholarship.
Gravel, Homeak, and Donkers are entering the second year of their nursing programs, and Kaplan will enter the fourth.
Auxillary secretary and former Barrhead Healthcare Centre site manager Linda Wolfram said the organization presents the scholarship to BCHS grads who have completed at least their first year of a nursing program.
She noted that Kaplan has worked at the Barrhead Healthcare Centre for the last two summers as part of her program.
"Dr. Bose was an amazing surgeon and just a brilliant man," she said. "I was so fortunate to have worked with him for several years at the hospital."
Originally from Calcutta, India, where he received his initial medical training, he came to Barrhead in 1970 with his wife, Anita Roy, a physician specializing in anesthesiology, following stints in England, where he was a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Edinburgh, and University of Pennsylvania hospital in Philadelphia, and served the community until his retirement in 2002.
Bose passed away in 2018, leaving the auxiliary a $1.3-million endowment in his will.
"He was a lifetime learner and really valued post-secondary education, especially those in the medical field. He always encouraged the doctors and nurses to pursue any [educational opportunities] given to them, and it was part of his wish that we would continue his legacy of learning," Wolfram said.
As part of his legacy in education, Bose was the author of 29 scientific articles and often made presentations at international surgical gatherings.
She added that Bose especially valued the work nurses did in healthcare.
"He always supported nurses, encouraging our nursing team at the hospital and was a great mentor for all of us, which is why we felt it was appropriate to support [Barrhead high school grads] becoming licenced practical nurses, registered nurses and nurse practitioners," she said.
Ride to Home program
Wolfram noted the scholarship is not the only program the Barrhead Healthcare Centre Auxillary was able to create through Bose's endowment, saying that in 2021, they launched Ride To Home.
The program, run through the Barrhead Community Cancer Centre, provides cancer patients in Barrhead, Fort Assiniboine, Westlock, Mayerthorpe, Sangudo and Slave Lake with rides to and from their homes to the city for their cancer-related medical appointments through volunteer drivers.
"We have quite a robust group of drivers in the Barrhead area, but we could use more drivers in Westlock and Slave Lake," Wolfram said.
Volunteers must undergo a Criminal Record check, have a suitable vehicle for the trip, and have the appropriate insurance.
Those interested in volunteering for the Ride Home program can call or text Violet Schriever at 780-282-0152.
Wolfram said that, like the nursing scholarship, the auxiliary sought to create the program because one of Bose's passions was helping people with cancer.
In addition to his practice in Barrhead, Bose was a consultant surgeon to the breast cancer unit at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton and was involved in both clinical and research work.
Through his work at the Cross Cancer Institute, Bose was credited with significantly contributing to several cancer treatments, including developing a technique for the excision of nail folds for in-grow toenails and using the amniotic membrane to treat burn wounds.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
