Dr. Vivian Rambihar, a Guyana Scholar who migrated to Canada and has been serving his community for over four decades, was this month inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame.
Dr. Rambihar has made contributions to the medical, scientific, and humanitarian fields as a physician, adjunct professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, and health co-chair for the Global Organization for People of Indian Origin.
In an interview with the News Room, Dr. Rambihar explained that his work focuses beyond “just treating, or trying to treat, patients in an office.”
“I’ve seen lots of people with, not just heart diseases, but unexpected heart attacks with people dying young. These are many people who thought they were doing well and doing the right things and then we lost them, which is devastating to the families and communities.
“I thought this was a good way to study medicine, learn medicine and then get out into the communities to solve some of the community problems that exist,” he said.
So he invites people in communities to identify what risk factors exist.
“… I ask everyone to work with the community, the community leaders and everyone else to figure out ways to try and improve health. To work with your community and find out your risks, find out what you need for good health,” he added.
The Scarborough Walk of Fame has more than 55 inductees. It honours residents who make a difference in the community in their respective fields be it arts and culture, health and science, sports, the environment, education, entertainment, community engagement or arts and culture.
Dr. Rambihar, a 1969 Guyana Scholar who attended Queen’s College, migrated to Canada in 1970. With the support of his family and community, he dedicated himself to novel and innovative practices in healthcare. He is also committed to advancing diversity in healthcare.
The Scarborough Health Network describes Dr. Rambihar as “an early pioneer” in recognising the ethnic and gender disparities in medicine. He dedicated his work to understanding these differences and how to overcome them in the development of equitable health.
His groundbreaking work extends beyond traditional medical boundaries, as he was among the first to integrate chaos and complexity science into medicine. Chaos and complexity theory is the concept that mathematical and/or situational formulas describe how systems change over time. In its application to real life, this can make events that appear random – such as sudden heart disease and death in South Asian populations – somewhat predictable, requiring different strategies for prevention.
