![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/private_members_bill_dr_jacob_june_2026_submitted_02.jpg\"\/)
Dr. Chandy Jacob was celebrated alongside 20 friends and family members. Submitted photo.\u00a0\n\u2018He chose Winkler\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
The same week he celebrated his 90th birthday, Dr. Chandy Jacob was invited to the legislature in Winnipeg for a moment of recognition that many would agree is well-deserved.<\/p>\n
The invitation came from Morden-Winkler MLA Carrie Hiebert, who wanted to celebrate his decades of service and impact in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to bring a private member statement forward in the legislature in front of\u00a0all of\u00a0my colleagues …\u00a0just to\u00a0honour\u00a0Dr. Jacob and all the things that\u00a0he’s\u00a0done for our community over the years,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
An \u2018integral part of\u00a0our\u00a0healthcare\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hiebert explained that a private member statement gives MLAs two minutes to recognize a person, organization, or issue that is important to their constituency.<\/p>\n
For her, Dr. Jacob was a natural choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[He] has been an integral part of our\u00a0health\u00a0care\u00a0at\u00a0our hospital, Boundary\u00a0Trails\u00a0Health\u00a0Centre,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the one who\u00a0actually spearheaded\u00a0the idea of regional\u00a0health\u00a0care because his goal was to keep\u00a0patients\u00a0home and not\u00a0have\u00a0to drive to Winnipeg for\u00a0health\u00a0care.\u00a0That’s\u00a0a big part of why we have so many services in our area right now.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Chandy Jacob was celebrated alongside 20 friends and family members. Submitted photo.\u00a0
\n\u2018He chose Winkler\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Hiebert, Dr. Jacob\u2019s many contributions to the region also reflect his commitment to the community he has called home for nearly six decades.<\/p>\n
She noted that he had no shortage of options when deciding where to build his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s\u00a0got amazing friends and he could have practiced anywhere in the province or in Canada and he chose Winkler to do his surgical practice and to come and\u00a0just take care of us here in our community,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think\u00a0that’s\u00a0something special.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celebrated surrounded by friends and family\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for the acknowledgment at the legislature, Hiebert said Dr. Jacob was accompanied by 20 guests, including family and friends, among them healthcare professionals from the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey went and celebrated\u00a0with a big fancy lunch after as well,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u00a0was\u00a0definitely a\u00a0celebration for him, and it was\u00a0really nice\u00a0to see.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hiebert added that while two minutes wasn’t nearly enough time to capture the full extent of Dr. Jacob\u2019s impact, the most meaningful part of the experience was the response from her fellow MLAs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was overwhelming.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see\u00a0…\u00a0all of my colleagues that represent the whole province of Manitoba\u00a0stand and give him that ovation and that applause and recognition,\u00a0I think that was the biggest part,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0could just see in his eyes that really meant a lot, and\u00a0I’m\u00a0so happy\u00a0that\u00a0could happen\u00a0for\u00a0him.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
She continued that the occasion also\u00a0represented\u00a0the Pembina Valley well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[It shone a light on the]\u00a0Boundary Trails\u00a0Health\u00a0Centre\u00a0and\u00a0all of\u00a0the amazing frontline staff that we\u00a0have\u00a0and how much effort and time they put into taking care of our loved ones in our community,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo just recognize the medical community and what they do for us, this is part of that, for sure.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
A move to Winkler in 1968\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for how Dr. Jacob felt about the recognition, he said he appreciated everything from the standing ovation to Premier Wab Kinew wishing him a happy birthday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was glad some of my friends could come\u00a0there, and we enjoyed the whole event,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr. Jacob\u2019s work in the community began in 1968, when he moved to Winkler as the region\u2019s first qualified surgeon.<\/p>\n
In those early years, he helped lay the foundation for what he describes as \u201ca good surgical program that helped serve the people in this whole area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Related stories:<\/p>\n
He was also on the front lines of expanding services in areas such as gynecology and orthopedics before advocating for a regional health-care facility.<\/p>\n
Those efforts ultimately helped lay the foundation for the Boundary Trails Health Centre, which continues to provide a broad range of health-care services closer to home for rural residents.<\/p>\n
For him, supporting rural care has\u00a0always\u00a0been both a priority and a passion.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am from a rural area originally, and I preferred the rural type of living, and that led to coming to this area, and more importantly, staying in this area,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people thought\u00a0I’d\u00a0come here and move out,\u00a0but I stayed in this area and improved the services in different areas and finally fought for a regional\u00a0centre.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still\u00a0making a difference\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although Dr. Jacob said he is happy to have been part of the region\u2019s significant advances in health care over the years, he believes there is still work to be done, including expanding services and improving access to care.<\/p>\n
Even at 90 years old, he remains part of that effort, not only advocating for change but still practising himself.<\/p>\n
That dedication is something Hiebert continues to witness firsthand.<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, at 90 years old, he and I still have had meetings in my\u00a0office, and he’s still advocating for\u00a0health\u00a0care and for bringing things closer to home for us as patients and community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"people](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/private_members_bill_dr_jacob_june_2026_submitted_01.jpg\"\/)
Dr. Jacob was honoured at the legislature the same week he celebrated his 90th birthday. Submitted photo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For her and many others, that dedication also defines who Dr. Jacob is.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up as a young girl, I don’t think there was a Sunday afternoon\u00a0faspa\u00a0that we weren’t sitting around the table with friends and family visiting and that somebody hadn’t talked about what Dr. Jacob had done or was doing,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s just something that we’ve always known and talked about throughout the 60 years that he’s been here, so it was\u00a0a really big opportunity for our community to\u00a0honour\u00a0him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The doctor’s view on the matter is that as long as he can, he will.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as\u00a0I’m\u00a0healthy,\u00a0and\u00a0my hands don’t shake,\u00a0and\u00a0my brain is working,\u00a0I think\u00a0I get to\u00a0continue getting involved in a small way if\u00a0it\u00a0helps\u00a0serve the people,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
With files from Robyn Wiebe\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The same week he celebrated his 90th birthday, Dr. Chandy Jacob was invited to the legislature in Winnipeg…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":736228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-736227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=736227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}