Vitalité Health Network honours the memory of Dr. Daniel de Yturralde

Moncton, February 10, 2023 – Yesterday evening, Vitalité Health Network held a ceremony attended by many guests, dignitaries and staff in memory of Dr. Daniel de Yturralde who passed away in 2016. An orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist, he was one of the drivers behind the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont UHC surgical suite project.

The Network announced that the new surgical suite, which opened its doors in the fall of 2021, will henceforth be named the “Dr. Daniel-de-Yturralde Pavilion.” 

During the ceremony held yesterday evening in the presence of several members of Dr. de Yturralde’s family, Dr. France Desrosiers, President and CEO of the Network, acknowledged his many accomplishments throughout his long career. “On behalf of all my fellow physicians and health care workers who worked directly or indirectly with Dr. de Yturralde, I can assure you that he played a positive role within the Network,” Dr. Desrosiers said. “The Network would like to honour his work as a builder and leader for more than 40 years within our facilities.”  

Dr. Luc Cormier, President of the Medical Staff of the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont UHC and Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital, is behind this acknowledgement. He wanted to highlight that Dr. de Yturralde was a physician who was dedicated to his patients and their family. “Not only did he have a heart of gold for his patients, but also for the entire community.”

The Network also installed a mural on the second floor of the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont UHC to commemorate him.

Members of the de Yturralde family unveiled the mural in memory of Dr. Daniel de Yturralde accompanied by Dr. France Desrosiers, President and CEO of Vitalité Health Network, and Dr. Luc Cormier, President of the Medical Staff of the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont UHC and Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital. PLEASE NOTE: Masks have been removed by some for photo purposes only.

Dr. de Yturralde was department head and medical director for many years at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont UHC. He made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of health care in New Brunswick. He was a founding member of the Dr. Léon-Richard Oncology Centre and the Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick. He was also a major supporter of the CHU Dumont Foundation and the Tree of Hope. He was the team doctor for the Moncton Wildcats, the Aigles Bleus of the Université de Moncton and many local sports teams. He was also Chief Medical Officer for the Canadian Figure Skating Championships, represented Canada on the medical team at the Lillehammer Olympic Games, was President of the Sports Medicine Council of New Brunswick and Medical Director for the VIII Summit of la Francophonie. Dr. de Yturralde was inducted into the Moncton Sports Wall of Fame and received a medal of honour from the Université de Moncton for his commitment to sport.