Local News
Well known gastroenterologist (and former Winnipegger) Lawrence Halparin – 55 years after he completed his M.D.
By GERRY POSNER I’ve written many times previously about the many Jewish Winnipeggers who found success in psychiatry. Although Winnipeg has turned out an inordinate number of Jewish psychiatrists, there are many Jewish Winnipeggers who entered into and reached lofty levels in other areas of medicine.
For instance, in the area of gastroenterology, Lawrence Halparin, a former resident of River Heights who, while growing up in the 1950s, did not know how to spell gastroenterology and likely had never heard of it.
Lawrence was the older son of Florence and William ( Bill) Halparin. He grew up in the south end of Winnipeg on Niagara Street between Grosvenor and Corydon. His younger brother, Elliot, also became a physician and is now a family doctor in Toronto. Lawrie, as I knew him once upon a time, was a graduate of Kelvin High School. As well, he is an alumnus of the University of Manitoba, where he completed his medical degree in 1969. He is now a Clinical Professor Emeritus of Medicine. How he got from a point as a promising student of merit to Emeritus is a story.
Officially today, Dr. Lawrence Halparin has various initials after his name: M.D.F.R.C.P.(C), and C.S.P.Q. Also ot to be forgotten is that he is a Diplomate of the American Board of Gastroenterology. What does all of that mean? The MDFRCP stands for Medical Doctor Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada. CSPQ stands for College of Specialists of the Province of Quebec.
And, even though Halparin as a younger guy was “diplomatic” in his relations with other people, he is now recognized as a Diplomate of the American Board of Gastroenterology. That is a prestigious title affirming that Halparin has completed a rigorous training programme and is considered a specialist in the area of digestive diseases. The Quebec part of Halparin’s background emanates from a time when Lawrence did his internship at the Montreal General Hospital and his residency at McGill University in the field of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology.
Along the path to becoming a fully fledged doctor, Halparin received several awards for his academic achievements, including the Morton Stall Memorial Scholarship, the Isbister Scholarship, a Dr. Maxwell Rady Scholarship, and later, a UBC Master teacher award. In short, Halparin was a star as a student and a star in his field as his career unfolded. Consider his professional employment for a moment: From 1975 – 1978, he was an Assistant Professor at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. In 1978 he moved to Vancouver and soon he was a Clinical Professor of Medicine (between 1986-2014) and is now emeritus. Moreover, between 1995-2013, he was the Chief of the Gastroenterology Department at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.
Halparin has lectured for many post graduate courses in Vancouver. Now, admittedly (at least for me), the topics are not ones I would rush to attend, the fact is that Halparin has contributed significantly in the field of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The list of Halparin’s public service contributions is long and large.
Although Halparin retired from clinical practice in 2014, he has still been highly involved in the area of gastroenterology. For three years – from 2014- 017, he was a member of the Medical Executive Committee for Providence Health Care, also a member of the Provincial Quality Care Committee. Presently, he is Board Chair of the Inflammatory Bowel Centre of B.C.
Anyone who has looked at reviews online regarding professionals and businesses might be wary of their legitimacy. I do not hold much stock in reviews of doctors that you can find online. Still, I was impressed by the number of people who submitted positive comments about their doctor, Lawrence Halparin. One patient who had heard of his retirement wrote as follows:
“Dr Halparin was my GI from 1985-2010 when I moved away. I miss him so much! Great knowledge, no rush, explained things to me in terms I could understand. What I appreciate the most is his honesty and not sugar coating his diagnoses. I am reading that he is retiring. Sad news, but after so many years of dedication he deserves to enjoy himself. There will be a lot of patients that will be sad to see him go.”
Lawrence and his wife, the former Barbara Kingdon, are the parents of three children and now, eight grandchildren. Lawrence still maintains his ties with Winnipeg, connecting every five years for his medical class reunions, the last one of which occurred just in September when the class celebrated its 55th reunion. Moreover, Lawrence has family in Winnipeg that includes his aunt, Lil Mostow, a sister to his father, who just turned 99 recently.
Take a look at the photo of Halparin accompanying this article. It’s a picture of Lawrence, at 80 years, fresh from a bicycle trail in Vancouver. I suggest that 55 years after his graduation from the University of Manitoba Medical School, few of us are looking quite as fit and firm as is Lawrence Halparin. The reality is that, in retirement, Halperin remains very active. He rides his bike summer and winter, plays hockey twice a week, and is a very social guy. Over a period of years, Halparin has developed a wide network of friends. You can call Halparin a lot of things, but shy is not one of them. Even in retirement, he is a regular participant at gastrointestinal rounds with his former colleagues and he is not hesitant to ask penetrating questions.
For me, I think of Lawrence Halparin as another example of the quality of a physician and indeed human being, that the city of Winnipeg and its Jewish community have exported.
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First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
Local News
Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”
