A photograph of Dr. Rusted was unveiled by Dr. Tony Gabriel, president of the NLMA, and Joan Rusted, daughter of Dr. Rusted.  Members of the Rusted family and the NLMA Retired Physicians Group, founded by Dr. Rusted, were among the guests.

The photograph, taken by Paul Daly, will hang inside the boardroom above a commemorative plaque. The wording on the plaque starts with a quote from Dr. Rusted: ““My attitude always was patients first and the hell with anybody else. If you’re going to treat them, treat them as you want to be treated yourself.”

The plaque describes Dr. Rusted as an icon of the medical profession in Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada. The description reads as follows:  “Dr. Rusted was a family physician and the last of a pioneer generation of surgeons who laid the foundations of surgical specialty care in the province. He travelled by ship to hundreds of isolated coastal communities, bringing medical care to areas that totaled 14,000 patients. He was also the first to perform several operations in the province in an era preceding antibiotics. Before retiring at age 80, he performed more than 9,000 surgeries, including hare lip and cleft palate reconstruction surgery for more than a650 children. Prior to Medicare, he performed more than 1,500 operations free for those too poor to afford it. He is highly regarded as a man of generosity and compassion and as a physician who always put his patients first. He is forever revered for his extraordinary and lasting impact on the medical profession.”

Members of Dr. Nigel Rusted’s family (from left): Dr. Angela Hyde, granddaughter, Elaine Hyde, daughter, Tom Rusted, son, and Joan Rusted, daughter. Dr. James Rourke, dean of medicine, attended the ceremony.