Nanaimo is now home to a new family practice clinic thanks to the help of a $30,000 forgivable loan, and it hopes to attract more physicians.
The Nanaimo Division of Family Practice says the Nanaimo and District Hospital Foundation partnered with them to provide the loan, which is part of a program created for the Central and North Island.
Called Thrive Family Health, it is the first family practice to get the $30,000 forgivable loan to support the opening of their new facility. The clinic adds they used the loan to fund an examination table, autoclave machine and other critical equipment for full family medicine services.
The loan comes with the expectation that the clinic will help increase physician capacity in the area.
Nanaimo Division of Family Practice executive director Beccy Robson says the new clinic has the space to accommodate the first two physicians who opened it, along with three others, potentially bringing five total to the area.
Robson adds the goal is to help attract more physicians to the area and keep the ones they have as there is a shortage of doctors.
“We have fantastic family physicians already doing the work and we want to keep those. So, we have a raft of support that really aims to help them with creating special projects,” said Robson.
“Even having more up-to-date small equipment in their clinics so they can provide the very best patient care for when the patients come in.”
Robson adds they have other incentives with the hospital foundation including helping with relocation costs and relocation fees, and Nanaimo has a lot to offer.
She adds the amount of difference an extra five physicians can make varies and the same goes for the number of clinics, according to Robson.
“Attachment can look different for each practitioner. We have family physicians who have been in the profession for a long time, and they have very large panels,” said Robson.
“Newer physicians, the expectation is they grow their panel slowly and sustainably.”
If you need a family doctor, Robson says they are attracting new physicians all the time and you can register on healtlinkbc.ca and sign up.
“The division is super excited to have created this unique partnership with the hospital foundation, we’re very grateful for their support,” said Robson.
“We’re really hoping this is going to help us achieve our goal of making Nanaimo a healthier city and that people are finding physicians and physicians keep coming to this wonderful city.”
