Dr. Robert Baillie
Cape Breton University is pleased to honour Dr. Robert Baillie for his significant contributions to the field of medicine, and for his dedication to improving the health outcomes of Nova Scotians.
Dr. Baillie studied pre-med at Dalhousie University and graduated from Dalhousie Medical School in 1970. He went on to post graduate training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the Victoria General Hospital. He received his Fellowship from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1974.
That same year, Dr. Baillie became the third person to join the Internal Medicine department in Sydney, which he helped to build to more than 30 before his retirement in 2008.
Throughout his career, Dr. Baillie marked many milestones. He and Dr. Naqvi were the first to put in heart pacemakers outside of Halifax. Dr. Baillie started a cardiac stress testing program and a cardiac ultrasound imaging program, also firsts outside of Halifax. He and Dr. Paul MacDonald, with the support of John Malcom, also established the Heart Failure Clinic and Cardiac Rehab Clinics, which were very successful. In fact, the Heart Failure Clinic decreased readmissions to hospital by 60 percent.
Dr. Baillie was a founding member of ICONS–Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Nova Scotia–and served on various medical committees focused on heart health. Dr. Baillie has long been involved in medical education and started a Cardiology Refresher course, which continued for many years.
While Dr. Baillie focused on the heart of medicine, he feels its soul lies with the talented teams he worked with, including the nurses, technicians and administrators who were open to new and innovative ideas. He credits his own success to the training he received, and to the support he received from his wife Michele and long-time secretary Norma Gillis.
Dr. Baillie has never been afraid of professions that are not for the faint of heart. In fact, to support himself financially, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in the rank of Pilot Officer and worked as an air traffic controller for three years.
Dr. Baillie believes the unsung heroes of medicine are the people of Nova Scotia, whose hard-earned tax dollars subsidize training, build hospitals and provide the state-of-the-art equipment that the best and brightest health professionals work with on a daily basis. He feels it is important to remember who put us here, and who we work for.
Always and still an avid runner, Dr. Baillie competed in the Boston Marathon in 1987. Since his retirement, Dr. Baillie has taken up the game of golf and loves to spoil his grandchildren.
Cape Breton University is proud to provide Dr. Baillie with the Healthcare Award of Distinction and thank him sincerely for his efforts in creating healthier communities.