The Gasette

The Department's commitment to patients' well-being goes beyond the clinic and operating room. This summer, a unique one-week camp held at Brigadoon Village, Nova Scotia highlighted how we can support our patients' lives in addition to providing traditional medical treatment.

As the first facility of its kind in Atlantic Canada, Camp Brigadoon is one of the largest pediatric medical camps in the country and has a long-standing relationship with IWK Health. Brigadoon’s purpose is beyond simply providing fun and exciting experiences for young campers but transforming the lives of the children attending the program. Children who attend Brigadoon’s programs have faced profound challenges for most of their young lives. The program is structured so that children with the same illness or life challenge attend a camp specifically designed for those with their needs. While at Brigadoon, campers learn more about their condition, share experiences, and create special friendships with other children going through the same challenges. Brigadoon offers extraordinary children a chance to be ordinary. 

The idea to send pediatric chronic pain patients to Brigadoon was first proposed years ago by Dr. Jane Seviour, a pediatric anesthesiologist at IWK Health. While the initial effort did not work out, Dr. Seviour revived the project last year and took the lead on making it a reality.

Dr. Seviour and her team worked to select patients who would benefit most, and clinic staff also helped by sharing the opportunity with families. From July 20 to 25, 2025, pediatric chronic pain patients participated in Camp Brigadoon. They joined other young patients with conditions such as heart disease, scoliosis, brain tumors, bleeding disorders, and were able to participate in any activity they wanted without any restrictions. Dr. Seviour and her colleague, Dr. Stuart Wright, both visited to see the camp in action.

The experience had a huge impact on everyone, especially Dr. Seviour. "I can't even explain in words how amazing my four days were there," she said. "Seeing children who I have followed for years running around, engaging with other kids, and living their best life was so inspirational. The transformation for many was well beyond my wildest dreams." The camp also gave parents peace of mind, knowing their children's medical needs were cared for by trained staff. "I'll never forget the joy on so many of the parents' faces as they dropped off their child," Dr. Seviour recalled.

A native Newfoundlander, Dr. Seviour started with the Department in 2017 and served as the pediatric anesthesia fellowship director until the end of August 2025. Her dedication and vision have created a legacy for our patients, demonstrating a deep commitment to holistic care that extends well beyond the hospital walls.

We are pleased to share that Dr. Janice Chisholm has been reappointed as Head of the Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management & Perioperative Medicine, effective July 1, 2025. Her reappointment follows a comprehensive external review and stakeholder survey evaluating her first five-year term.

During her tenure, Dr. Chisholm has led the Department through significant operational improvements while fostering a culture rooted in collaboration, inclusivity, and forward-thinking leadership. The final review report recommended her renewal, citing the Department’s continued performance and her effective leadership.

“While the review highlighted many areas of progress, I am most proud that it recognized our collegial spirit and culture of collaboration as defining strengths. Simply put: we care—about our patients, about one another, and about the future of our field. That care is what sets us apart,” says Dr. Chisholm.

As the Department looks ahead, a clear roadmap has been laid out for the next phase. Priorities include expanding residency training capacity, strengthening distributed medical education in New Brunswick, advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) initiatives, and investing in the wellness of faculty and staff. The Department also aims to enhance its research profile through strategic mentorship and infrastructure development, while continuing to focus on sustainability and excellence in clinical care through team-based approaches.

“I want to sincerely thank every member of our Department—faculty, professional staff, and our broader healthcare teams—for your trust and partnership over the past five years. Together, we’ve navigated change, grown our team, and expanded how and where we deliver care. The future is bright, and I look forward to the work ahead—together.”

Please join us in congratulating Dr. André Bernard, Associate Head of the Department, for his appointment as the new chair of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Board of Directors! Dr. Bernard assumed the role on August 21 for an initial three-year term.

As chair, Dr. Bernard will manage the governance duties of the CMA board, as well as direct the CMA to achieve IMPACT 2040, a vision of the organization to achieve a sustainable health system that is more accessible and patient partnered; a new medical culture that is focused on physical and mental well-being and embraces equity and diversity; and a society where every individual has equal opportunities to be healthy.

This position is a testament to Dr. Bernard’s commitment to effective governance and physician-led transformation. In this new role, he will draw on his extensive experience as board chair of Doctors Nova Scotia, board chair of the Medical Society of PEI, and chair of the CMA Governance Committee, among other positions.

A native of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Dr. Bernard completed his medical training and residency at Dalhousie University. Working in the operating room is not the only reason why Dr. Bernard practices medicine - he is passionate about service through medical practice and how science meets social justice. In his fourth year of residency at Dal, he took a year off to pursue a master’s degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science in health policy and health financing and gained a real sense of direction in this vocational path. “My career needs to be about this joint piece of providing exemplary specialty care, anesthesia, and pain management, where I can serve people every day in the operating room, in the clinic, and also serve organized medicine in whatever manner I could,” says Dr. Bernard.

We wish Dr. Bernard the best on this important national leadership position.