Dr. Deborah Cook, a critical care physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton whose groundbreaking work has changed practice and improved outcomes for patients around the world, is being inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
The announcement, made on October 3, 2024, honours Dr. Cook’s achievements throughout her career as a pioneering physician and researcher in critical care medicine. Dr. Cook has led numerous clinical trials that have led to improvements in the care of critically ill patients, including best practices for reducing lung infections, gastrointestinal bleeding, and blood clots. Her work has ensured the key role of St. Joseph’s Healthcare in global trials evaluating mechanical ventilation and treatment for sepsis and kidney failure. At McMaster, Dr. Cook is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI) and the academic chair of critical care. She has published more than 900 peer-reviewed articles during her exciting career.
“When I started on faculty, there were large information gaps in the way we cared for critically ill patients. These fuelled our clinical research agenda,” said Dr. Cook. “The collaborative interprofessional spirit within and across ICUs in Canada helped to accelerate knowledge generation. I’m so grateful for the leadership opportunities that aligned with my passion.”
Dr. Cook has also garnered international renown as co-founder of the 3 Wishes Project, which personalizes the process of dying by encouraging patients, their families, and their clinicians to elicit and then implement wishes that bring meaning during the dying process. Wishes to date have included a toast in the room, visits from the family pet, or the chance to spend time outdoors. Dr. Cook’s research into the 3 Wishes Project has found it helps humanize the end-of-life experience and has a lasting, positive impact on loved ones as well as clinicians. The 3 Wishes Project, which began at St. Joe’s, has now been adopted by hospitals around the world.
Dr. Mike Heenan, president of St. Joe’s, said being honoured by the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a testament to Dr. Cook’s leadership and dedication as a clinician-researcher.
“On behalf of everyone at St. Joe’s, I wish to congratulate Dr. Cook. Her relentless dedication to our academic mission and improving the quality of life for the sickest patients in our hospital is truly incredible,” Dr. Heenan said. “Her unwavering commitment to working with the next generation of physician leaders is a continual source of inspiration.”
The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame selects those whose contributions to medicine and health sciences have led to extraordinary improvements in human health. Dr. Cook has earned numerous national and international awards over the years, including the Royal Society of Canada’s 2024 McLaughlin Medal and the 2022 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award.
Dr. Lehana Thabane, vice-president of research at St. Joe’s and chair of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, said this is a well-deserved honour for Dr. Cook and her fellow inductees.
“Their outstanding contributions have made Canada, and the world, a better place,” said Dr. Thabane.
Dr. Cook and her fellow Canadian Medical Hall of Fame inductees will be celebrated at a ceremony in Hamilton next June.