Our Two Founding Doctors
Dr. Fraser Rubens
Dr. Rubens is a Cardiac Surgeon at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Originally from Kingston, Dr. Rubens has made Ottawa his home since 1985 and has had an accomplished career as an academic surgeon since 1995. In 2006 he was made a Full Professor in the Department of Surgery and served as the Residency Program Director for the Division for 12 years. He is well recognized as a surgical educator having been awarded the Program Director of the Year for all specialty programs in Canada by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2015. Dr. Rubens has pioneered techniques in teaching of communication and empathy in young surgeons and has established education programs that will benefit trainees for many years to come. As a researcher, Dr. Rubens is author of over 200 peer-reviewed publications and has served as the principal investigator in numerous clinical trials in his specialty, serving on two editorial boards and as a consultant to industry in the area of medical devices. Dr. Rubens has brought innovative surgical therapies to Ottawa and has served as the Director of the Pulmonary Endarterectomy Program since its inception in 1995. This high risk and highly specialized surgery has been successfully completed in scores of patients from across Canada with world-class results.
Dr. Rubens started his musical training as a singer in his youth and continued high-level vocal studies during medical school and residency. He has an established and active career as an oratorio and concert soloist for choirs throughout Ontario and Quebec. He has sung stage roles with Opera Lyra Ottawa (Le Nozze de Figaro, The Merry Widow), Co-Opera Canada (The Merry Widow - Camille), the Southminster Festival (L’elisir d’amore - Nemorino) and Rapport Opera (Cosi fan tutte – Ferrando). He has performed several times with Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings in Viennese operetta repertoire and solo concerts of art song in California, Frankfurt, Salzburg and Italy (Ragusa, Spoletto, Scheggina). The Canadian composer Peter Wilshire dedicated the song series “Three Songs for the Heart” for tenor and orchestra to Dr. Rubens in 2005. In 2007 he released the album “Bel Canto Dottori” with Jean Desmarais (piano) and in 2009 “Songs of Travel – Music of Vaughan Williams, Finzi and Corigliano” with Matthew Larkin (piano) and David Thies-Thomson (viola). Dr. Rubens’ musical charity work was featured in “The Surgeons” on the Discovery Channel. His greatest thanks is for the patience of his lovely wife Carole and his children who have put up with his two meandering careers
Dr. Rubens started his musical training as a singer in his youth and continued high-level vocal studies during medical school and residency. He has an established and active career as an oratorio and concert soloist for choirs throughout Ontario and Quebec. He has sung stage roles with Opera Lyra Ottawa (Le Nozze de Figaro, The Merry Widow), Co-Opera Canada (The Merry Widow - Camille), the Southminster Festival (L’elisir d’amore - Nemorino) and Rapport Opera (Cosi fan tutte – Ferrando). He has performed several times with Ottawa’s Thirteen Strings in Viennese operetta repertoire and solo concerts of art song in California, Frankfurt, Salzburg and Italy (Ragusa, Spoletto, Scheggina). The Canadian composer Peter Wilshire dedicated the song series “Three Songs for the Heart” for tenor and orchestra to Dr. Rubens in 2005. In 2007 he released the album “Bel Canto Dottori” with Jean Desmarais (piano) and in 2009 “Songs of Travel – Music of Vaughan Williams, Finzi and Corigliano” with Matthew Larkin (piano) and David Thies-Thomson (viola). Dr. Rubens’ musical charity work was featured in “The Surgeons” on the Discovery Channel. His greatest thanks is for the patience of his lovely wife Carole and his children who have put up with his two meandering careers
Dr. Carol Wiebe
Dr. Wiebe is a family physician with a specialty in Care of the Elderly. She has worked at Bruyère since she moved to Ottawa in 2000, with the exception of a work-year in South Africa from 2004-05. Dr. Wiebe’s work at Bruyère has focused on geriatric rehabilitation and long-term care, and she currently also works with the Bruyère Memory Program.
Since completing her training as a family doctor, Dr. Wiebe has been active in medical education and physician leadership. In the 1990s in Manitoba, she was the provincial mentor for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Mentorship Program. At Bruyère, Dr. Wiebe entered into physician leadership within the Care of the Elderly department and was designated physician lead for the electronic patient record implementation in 2009. She has been Vice-President of Medical Affairs at Bruyère since 2016. As a physician, Dr. Wiebe has always worked with the vulnerable and feels the people, mission and values at Bruyère promote excellent care for this population.
Prior to studying medicine, Dr. Wiebe did a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance (piano, flute) and still enjoys performing and hosting house concerts. She also loves running hills and has completed three marathons. Her two sons have been the focus of her life for more than two decades, and continue to be her greatest joy.
