DR. Dhun Noria, a distinguished South Asian doctor who is The Scarborough Hospital’s Chief of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Director of Laboratories, was presented with the Order of Ontario by Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell at an investiture ceremony on Tuesday.

The Order of Ontario is the province’s highest official honour. It recognizes any current or former long-time resident of Ontario who has demonstrated a high level of individual excellence and achievement in any field benefitting the people of Ontario or anywhere in the world.

Dr. Noria was recognized with this prestigious honour due to her unwavering commitment and steadfast dedication to TSH, Scarborough and the Ontario medical community.

“I am humbled to be honoured as a recipient of the Order of Ontario,” said Dr. Noria. “I have been blessed to have had so many opportunities to serve communities right here at home and internationally. It is in my blood; it is my passion. The Order of Ontario is a prestigious recognition; however, it is the relationships that I have with individuals and with the community that I cherish the most.”

Dr. Noria once told an interviewer: “I have had the privilege of studying in India and a lot of what I have achieved today in Toronto can be traced back to a rock-solid education I was exposed to while growing up there.”

Dr. Noria, who came to Canada in the late 1960s, graduated from Osmania Medical College in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. She followed her husband Farokh to Toronto.

Dr. Noria has built a career on an unwavering commitment to excellence in health care with significant impact on Ontario’s health care system. Throughout her more than 30 years with TSH (The Scarborough Hospital), Dr. Noria has provided guidance on many significant initiatives. As a member of the core planning team for the amalgamation of Scarborough General and Grace Hospitals in 1999, she advocated for the community, and ensured transparency and quality throughout the process. She also founded and chaired the Shared Hospital Laboratory – a joint partnership with TSH, North York General Hospital and Toronto East General Hospital that was lauded by former Health Minister David Caplan as a, “trophy to the residents of Scarborough and East York.” In addition, she has been a member of both the hospital and TSH Foundation (TSHF) Board of Directors.

Her passion and involvement extends into the community through many active and supportive roles. As a champion for the delivery of high-quality patient care across the health care system, she is currently a Trustee of the University Health Network (Toronto General Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital and Toronto Rehab Institute) and the Chair of the Quality Committee of the Board for the University Health Network.

Dr. Noria also serves on the Toronto Police Services Board, has been a member of the Board of Governors for the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care since 1996 and served as Chair of the Metro Toronto District Health Council where she steered the successful restructuring of 44 hospitals during the amalgamation of the City of Toronto.

Her remarkable body of work and commitment to the community has been honoured locally and internationally for many years. In 2014, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from TSHF at the Scarborough World Gala. She has also received the Ontario Medical Association Presidential Award for Outstanding Services by a Physician to the Community and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award, both in 2012. She was also inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame in 2011 and has been named as a Local Toronto Hero by the Canadian Multicultural Council.

Dr. Noria is also a successful business person who owns and operates several medical-related businesses. In 2004, she was named Business Woman of the Year by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce. Outside of the health care sector, Dr. Noria’s many causes include the Zoroastrian Society of Ontario, which recognizes her and her husband for their many community initiatives in the United States and India.

Dr. Noria’s passion for and dedication to enhancing health care has motivated her to participate in many philanthropic activities, including contributions to TSH designated to the Women’s Clinic to support the early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer – an issue close to her heart.

As a two-time breast cancer survivor, Dr. Noria understands that life can be short and hopes to help as many people as she can, and has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. She admits, “There is so much to do that will keep me busy and active. I can’t imagine myself ever retiring and going into the sunset.”