West Middlesex Health Centre (WMHC) Grand Opening
The Department of Family Medicine is thrilled to celebrate the official grand opening of West Middlesex Health Centre (WMHC).
Background:
West Middlesex Health Centre (WMHC), located in Strathroy, Ontario, first opened to the public on August 17, 2020. This was between the first and second wave of the Pandemic. The patients from the practices of Dr. Philip Vandewalle, Dr. John Marcou, Dr. Sara Puente, and Dr. Nuala Marshall, originally located at 31 Caradoc St N in Strathroy, started to see the doctors in the new building. At that time the clinic increased their compliment of family medicine residents from two to four within one month of moving to the new building. In July 2021, the clinic increased the compliment of residents to eight. The four doctors were appointed as full-time Assistant Professors at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry Department of Family Medicine. As well as teaching residents, there are medical students at various stages of their training who will also spend time in this clinic. A compliment of Thames Valley Family Health Team (TVFHT) staff moved to the new site as well (OT, NP, RN, RD, SW and Pharmacist). In addition, a pharmacy, IDA, opened up in November 2020. The pharmacist and team are very open to helping educate learners. They of course welcome business from clinic patients and any other patients in the community.
West Middlesex Health Centre has two sister sites – one in Ailsa Craig with two doctors, Dr. Norm Furtado and Dr. Michael Wagner; and one in Parkhill with one doctor, Dr. Craig Olmstead.
On November 1, 2021, the clinic will welcome three new doctors, Dr. Aditya Devgan, Dr. Stephen McDonald and Dr. Monica Carter, who will take on 3000 to 4000 patients combined over the coming months. Additionally, they will each be Adjunct Professors within the Department of Family Medicine. There is still room for at least one more full practice in the future.
The clinic has been stymied from having an opening due to the Pandemic. With three new doctors coming to the centre, it was felt to be a good time to introduce these doctors to the community and celebrate the official opening of another full-time teaching clinic in the Department of Family Medicine.
The event:
The opening will be on November 10, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. The event will include speakers as well as tours of the center. Due to the pandemic, the event will be kept small but please look out for updates on social media and in the Family Medicine monthly newsletter.
The University of Western Ontario would like to acknowledge funding from the Government of Ontario, specifically, the Ministry of Health & Long Term Care through the Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities for infrastructure support towards the Family Medicine Expansion in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
