Two new clinics coming to town

Two new medical clinics planned for Okotoks may be the cure for the town’s doctor shortage.

The first, the 6,000-square-foot Pinnacle Medical Centre, is set to open by July 1 and will house four or five family physicians in addition to various medical specialists. Pinnacle Medical Centres currently runs five clinics in Calgary, one in Strathmore and one in Okotoks, offering service from general practice to sleep apnea and respiratory clinics.

The second is proposed for the Southbank area by Okotoks chiropractor Dr. Paul Hicke. The 16,000-square-foot facility will include up to six medical doctors. Hicke currently runs his chiropractic practice out of Southridge Village.

The new facility will house Hicke’s practice, including adding physiotherapy, as well as a pharmacy and a turn-key medical clinic ready to hold up to six medical doctors.

“What I endeavour to do is hire a medical consultant to design the clinic,” said Hicke. “Then we’ll either lease to a group or a couple of physicians who want to relocate from within town or elsewhere, or just run it ourselves and hire medical doctors,” said Hicke.

The second floor, he said, will house a dentist, a naturopath and a radiology clinic or other medical service or specialist.

The Southbank Medical Centre will be located directly east of Costco and is set to open in April 2017. A development permit was approved in August 2015.

Hicke said he hopes to draw practitioners open to a collaborative approach to health care, which he says has been lacking in town.

“I’ve always found within my practice there’s often a disconnect of care,” said Hicke. “A patient may see me, but their medical doctor doesn’t know what I’m doing, or their physical therapist doesn’t know what the medical doctor is doing.

“This will be a group of practitioners working together in a symbiotic atmosphere for optimum patient care.”

Hicke said his patients are excited about the vision of having all their health care needs met under one roof.

Okotoks economic development manager Shane Olson said the clinic is great news for the town.

“This clinic will bring in medical specialists, which will keep more money in the community and provide better quality of life for our residents if they don’t have to travel to the city to find medical services,” said Olson.

Olson said the two clinics will do more than provide necessary health care in Okotoks – they will also generate employment.

“It takes a variety of services and products to keep clinics like these going, which will be a boost to the local economy,” he said. “It will provide health care, increase quality of life and generate employment.”

Olsen said medical clinics could be instrumental in developing a professional business community in Okotoks, because many employers want to have local health care services available for their employees.

Mayor Bill Robertson said having two medical clinics coming on board is excellent news for Okotoks.

“We still have a shortage of physicians in town, as far as I’m concerned,” said Robertson. “This should help satisfy some of that need for physicians in Okotoks.”