Arianna Danganan, Centretown News
Floralove Katz gazes at the tennis court on Frank Street, which may be renamed after her late father, Leon Katz. The tennis courts at St. Luke’s Park on Frank Street may soon be getting a new name in honour of a late Ottawa resident who was nothing short of a lifesaver for many thousands.
The City of Ottawa has been seeking public input on a proposal to rename the courts the “Leon Katz Tennis Courts,” in recognition of a man who was a pivotal force in Canadian biomedical engineering.
“He was a very inspiring individual and an even more inspiring engineer,” says Ben Novak, an Ottawa-based civil engineer who supported the nomination. “He was a humble man who had very large, all-encompassing knowledge and his inventions were quite impressive.”
Born in Montreal on Dec. 20, 1924, Katz conceived, designed and hand-crafted a wide range of lifesaving medical devices. He lived in the Golden Triangle area of Centretown for more than 35 years and worked at Health and Welfare Canada at Tunney’s Pasture for two decades. He died on Jan. 9, 2015, at the age of 90.
Among his most notable accomplishments were the creation of Canada’s first heart-lung pump for open heart surgery, a fetal monitor, a scanner-printer to detect radioactive iodine uptake in thyroid disease, infant incubators, and a high-speed contrast injector for angiography.
“He had a constantly inquiring mind,” says Katz’s daughter, Floralove Katz, describing how her father was always contemplating new ways of putting things together and innovating solutions.
Once during a meeting with an anesthetist, prior to undergoing surgery, she says her father was asked if he had any questions. Instead of asking about the impacts of the surgical drugs, he asked the anesthesiologist about the oxygenator and other medical devices.
Before he passed away last year, due to mesothelioma and lung cancer, Katz had received many awards, including the Order of Ontario, the Order of Canada, as well as the Living Legend Award from the World Society of Cardio-Thoracic Surgeons.
Floralove Katz, who submitted the commemorative naming proposal to the city, says she wanted a more formal tribute to be paid to her father, so that others – especially the next generation of potential students – could learn about and be inspired by him.
“At a community event two years ago, a 14-year-old boy approached my dad . . . and said, ‘Mr. Katz, a few years ago, I met you at a Remembrance Day ceremony,’ ” recalls Floralove. “ ‘You inspired me so much, taking the time to explain biomedical engineering to me, that I am now pursuing science and hopefully, engineering in the long run.’ ”
She adds: “That is why I hope the naming goes through – to inspire the next generation of life-saving Canadians, the future ‘Leon Katz geniuses’.”
Diane Blais, a city clerk involved in the commemorative naming process, explained that the program is limited to city-owned streets, parks and facilities. It tries to ensure there is a geographical connection between the name and the location. The tennis courts were deemed a suitable location to commemorate Katz because of the present park’s link to medicine, as the former site of St. Luke’s hospital, as well as the park’s proximity to Katz’s home.
“I’m pleased we were able to find a location that seemed well suited to Mr. Katz with his distinguished history in medical innovation, as the park is on the former property of the historic St. Luke’s General Hospital,” said Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney.
Since the naming program is application-based, if a proposal meets the policy criteria, it is brought to the city’s commemorative naming committee for preliminary approval.
The criteria includes evidence that the nominated individual demonstrated exceptional service to the citizens of the City of Ottawa, the province of Ontario and/or Canada, made a significant financial contribution to a park or facility that benefits the community or has worked to foster equality and reduce discrimination.
The city then launches a 30-60 day public consultation phase that, once completed, will be reviewed by the committee in the event of any negative feedback. Once approved, a ceremony will take place, typically to unveil signage and publicize the city facility’s new name.