1998 INDUCTEE Gustave Gingras, MD Service Abroad, Public Health, Health Promotion & Advocacy, Health Policy, Leadership in Organizational Development, Skin, Bones, Muscles & Joints

Gustave Gingras posthumously inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

Hull, Québec

Dr. Gingras suffered from a degenerative neurological disorder but maintained inspiring optimism that mirrored his distinguished career

Throughout his illness, he practiced the most important lesson that he gave to fellow Canadians: “Never give up, and focus on remaining abilities rather than on those lost.”

Gingras responded to another Canadian tragedy: thalidomide

In 1963, he established a rehabilitation program for its victims in Canada.

Gingras led a Red Cross mission to Morocco

There he established a rehabilitation program for 10,000 Moroccans who had become paralyzed after ingesting toxic oil.

Became a Professor of Physical Rehabilitation at the University of Montréal

He founded and directed the university's school of rehabilitation and was also appointed Director of the Rehabilitation Service at Queen Mary’s Veteran’s Hospital.

Gustave Gingras’ heroism extended beyond Canadian borders

In 1953, he served as an consultant to the Government of Venezuela to plan a national program of rehabilitation and to establish a training school. For more than 20 years, Gingras answered the call of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Already an icon in the field of physical therapy, Dr. Gingras became a Canadian hero during the polio epidemic

Dr. Gingras organized rehabilitation programs and provided care for thousands of patients.

Recognizing a need for improved access to rehabilitation services, Dr. Gustave Gingras founded and directed the Rehabilitation Institute of Montreal

He transformed the clinic into a world-renowned rehabilitation centre, pioneering new rehabilitation techniques and developing state of the art technology. He served as the Institute’s Director until 1977.

For four years, at Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Dr. Gingras gathered a team of physical and occupational therapists, social workers, and psychologists

He set to work on pioneering many rehabilitation techniques. At the end, many of the veterans were able to return back to their homes and work in their jobs. This work sparked a passion in Dr. Gingras, setting in motion a distinguished career marked with compassion, innovation and unwavering determination.

After returning from war service, Gingras’s plan was to work in his speciality of neurosurgery

Dr. Wilder Penfield, however, encouraged Dr. Gingras to work with a group of 50 paraplegic and quadriplegic war veterans at the Ste. Anne de Bellevue Hospital in Montréal.

Shortly after completing his medical training, Gingras joined Canada’s war effort

He served with Canadian Army Medical Corps until the end of World War II.