Honored by the Hospital

When the Scarborough General Hospital conferred its Global Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr Dhun Noria at a fundraising gala at Toronto’s Sheraton Hotel on May 10, 2014, she became the second person in the Hospital’s history to receive such an honor. During her 25 plus years of service there, "She has touched the lives of hundreds of people and there’s no better measure of success,” the president of Scarborough Hospital Dr Robert Biron was quoted in an article by Ajit Jain in TheIndianDiaspora.com
Besides heading the Lab Medicine Program at Scarborough, she took the initiative of consolidating the microbiology laboratories of five hospital sites under one roof to achieve economies of scale and improve quality. Noria was the chair of the Metro Toronto District Health Council, an advisory body to the ministry of health, that masterminded the restructuring of 44 hospitals and is also on the board of the University Health Network of four major hospitals — Toronto General, Princess Margaret, Toronto Western and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Lady Sarah Ferguson (center) with Noria family (from left): Zubin, Dr Dhun, Dr Sabrena and Farokh

Since hospitals in Ontario are facing a financial crunch as the provincial government is curtailing funds, they are compelled to raise their own resources. The May 10 function that was graced by the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson was hoping to earn the support of affluent Indo-Canadians. Earlier Dhun and her businessman husband Farrokh Noria had donated one million dollars to the Scarborough Hospital.
A two-time breast cancer survivor, she has been actively soliciting support for the cancer care program at Scarborough realizing that in 2013 there were 5,000 deaths (in Canada) due to breast cancer. Her community work extends to Zoroastrians too and earlier she had served as chair of the fundraising committee for a Zoroastrian fire temple in Toronto for which they had raised over three million dollars. "There is so much to do as a volunteer that will keep me busy and active. I can’t imagine myself ever retiring and going into the sunset,” said Noria who is also a member of the board of governors of the Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care and serves on the Toronto Police Services Board.
Born in Bombay to Dina and Pesi Pestonji, Dhun was one of seven children raised in Raichur in Karnataka. From a young age she volunteered her time at orphanages and women’s shelters and participated in social welfare activities. When just a teenager, India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, presented her with the All India Best Cadet Award at the National Cadet Corps rally in New Delhi. She graduated with an MBBS degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, and after her migration to Canada became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in anatomic pathology and subsequently practised as a surgical pathologist.
A successful businessperson 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. In May 2011 she was recognized as a star on the Scarborough Walk of Fame. The following year she was named a Local Toronto Hero by the Canadian Multicultural Council, received the Presidential Award from the Ontario Medical Association and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award during the 60th anniversary of her coronation.