Giving back to community mental health
““I have a passion to help people.
I do that through my work as a doctor, and as a donor. I make a living from working in the system, so it’s important for me to give back.””
“Please, call me Manny.”
It’s a line Emmanuel Aquino has said countless times during his 54-year medical career. As a psychiatrist with Nova Scotia Health, he makes a conscious effort to get to know his patients.
“I don’t look at the diagnosis, I look at the person,” says Dr. Aquino. “For me, no one is a number.”
Dr. Aquino arrived in Cape Breton from the Philippines with his young family in tow when he was 29 years old. Their first Christmas in Canada was celebrated around a tree made from poster board. He believes his experience being a newcomer of little means helped him become a better doctor.
“Each person is different,” says Dr. Aquino. “We’re like pieces of a puzzle. We’re trained as doctors to diagnose and treat, but we need to be a person too.”
Dr. Aquino has practiced across the province in various facilities, including prisons and the East Coast Forensic Hospital. Recovery, he says, requires teamwork involving recreation and occupational therapists, social workers, and community supports. That’s why he’s a monthly donor to the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia.
In 1992, Dr. Aquino gave his first gift to the Foundation and he’s been donating ever since.
“I have a passion to help people,” says Dr. Aquino. “I do that through my work as a doctor, and as a donor. I make a living from working in the system, so it’s important for me to give back.”