Dana Haggith, Special to the Voice
New specialist clinics were introduced during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Sydenham Campus in Wallaceburg Oct. 18.
Lori Marshall, President and CEO of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA), said she is thrilled to bring the new services to the Sydenham Campus.
“What we’re doing is introducing some new specialist clinics at the Wallaceburg site,” Marshall said. “What that means is we will have some of our physician specialists travelling to Wallaceburg to offer their services there. It ranges from internal medicine clinics, through respirology and paediatrics … those would be the major one’s at this stage that we’re looking at.”
Specifically, the following clinics will begin booking patients this month:
- Internal medicine clinic with Dr. Mahmud Rajabalee;
- Internal medicine clinic with Dr. Gemma Bain-Atoe;
- Respirology clinic with Dr. Javaria Sohaib;
- Neurology clinic with Dr. Awad Mortada; and
- Paediatric clinic with Dr. Abu Ismail.
“We really believe in care closer to home,” Marshall said. “We are one hospital, two sites. So we need to think about how it is that we can distribute our services and care in a way that is most supportive of the residents across Chatham-Kent. We just feel that this makes sense.”
Dr. Dennis Atoe, a family doctor in Wallaceburg and an ER physician, said the new CKHA leadership team have come through once again.
“Back in February of this year, Mr. Rob Devitt, hospital supervisor, said to me that I will be happy to know that there will be specialists clinics here at Sydenham Campus,” Atoe said in a press release.
“He and CKHA’s senior team have come through once again. First there is the enhanced respiratory therapy service in emergency, now internal medicine and paediatrician clinics. I am pleased that services are beginning to return to Sydenham Campus. I am equally happy with the collaboration between the two sites – it is truly becoming a one hospital, two-site model. It is my sincere hope that other specialists will join this new collaboration and not just a few, as we are all involved in serving the community.”
Dr. Pervez Faruqi, chief of staff at the CKHA, said these additional clinics will offer accessible and convenient services to patients and their families.
“I want to thank everyone involved for their commitment and collaborative teamwork towards service reinvestment at our Sydenham Campus,” Faruqi said in a press release.
“CKHA will now be able to do more for patients who need care in our communities.”
CKHA officials say the expansion of specialist clinics was a key reinvestment laid out in the organization’s 2017/18 recovery plan. Through the work completed to date, the opportunity to enhance access to care at CKHA’s Sydenham Campus has come to fruition with today’s announcement, CKHA officials stated.
