At its Annual General Meeting on September 24, 2000, the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association presented its Award of Excellence for the year 2000 to Dr. Balfour M. Mount of Montréal.
Dr. Balfour Mount has made an outstanding contribution to the birth and development of palliative care in Canada.
Dr. Mount’s accomplishments are vast. Listed below are just a few highlights of many remarkable achievements:
- Dr. Mount established the first integrated palliative care unit in a North American hospital, namely, the palliative care unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
- His many publications and presentations as a visiting professor throughout the country and overseas have fostered a desire among thousands of caregivers and volunteers to make a concrete commitment to the terminally ill and their families, and to integrate his humanistic teaching into their practice.
- Over the past decade, Dr. Mount established and held the first university chair in palliative care, namely, the Eric M. Flanders Chair at McGill University. He has also contributed significantly to the creation and development of the CHPCA.
- He has acted as Chairman of the Congress on Care of the Terminally Ill held every second fall in Montreal.
Through his relentless pioneering work, legendary dedication, and profound personal and professional qualities, the emerging field of palliative medicine and palliative care has evolved and received recognition both in Canada and abroad.