Apr 17, 2020

UHN Emergency doctor teams up with ‘Captain Canada’ to combat COVID-19

Emergency Medicine Division, About DFCM
Steve Nash and Dr. David Carr

As the Covid-19 patient population at UHN increases, Emergency Department physician Dr. David Carr can feel the pressure rising on him and his colleagues.

"In many respects this is what we signed up for," says Dr. Carr. "To care for the sickest, it's what we are trained to do."

That said, Dr. Carr's mantra throughout the pandemic has been: "It can't just be up to us to fight the virus – it's up to everyone. And, that means staying home."

But he wondered if all Canadians – especially younger people, have been getting the message.

Then an idea struck.

"A crazy idea really," says Dr. Carr.

He put out the call on Twitter to people he felt have influence on a younger demographic. Namely, star athletes. A basketball fan, Dr. Carr reached out to some of his favorite players past and present.

The next day Dr. Carr was surprised to see a reply. An even bigger surprise was that it came from one of his athlete heroes – NBA Hall of Famer and MVP, Steve Nash.

"Happy to be involved," said the native of Victoria, B.C. who earned the nickname "Captain Canada" for leading the Canadian men's basketball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

"You guys are the heroes now."

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