Goodbye Dr. James Lu. Hello Dr. Meena Dawar

September 8 marked a change-of-face in Richmond’s Medical Health Office as Dr. Meena Dawar took over from Dr. James Lu.

Although he may be gone, Dr. Lu is definitely not retired. Rather, he’s traded Richmond – his professional home for the past 12 years – for a Vancouver-based office at 601 West Broadway where he will shift his professional focus to regional environmental health for such challenges as how to improve water quality in False Creek.

Dr. Lu earned wide respect during his time in Richmond, and was valuable resource not only to the Richmond Community of Care, but also to the Richmond School District and the City of Richmond; both of whom appreciated his “systems thinking, expertise and commitment to community health and well-being.”

Welcome Dr. Dawar

Based from the Public and Environmental Health offices at 8100 Granville Ave., Dr. Dawar has had 15 years of experience as a public health physician. She has been a Medical Health Officer with VCH for the past six years and is the Medical Health Officer lead regionally on immunization practice and tobacco reduction strategy. These are roles she will continue to carry in addition to her Richmond CoC duties.

Dr. Meena Dawar is Richmond’s new Medical Health Officer.

A few facts about Dr. Dawar:

• Beach or ski hill? Beach definitely. It comes with being born in a tropical country.
• First car? A little Toyota Tercel that I used to bum around in Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia while checking out ammonia levels in chicken barns.
• If you had a year off with pay, what would you do? Catch up on my sleep, and then volunteer with Red Cross or Doctors without Borders. I would do this even without pay.