Windermere Plaza Medical Clinic

11/05/2022

Dear patients,

Windermere Plaza Medical Clinic will be running our influenza vaccination clinic again this year!

We are seeing an unprecedented number of flu cases fairly early in the season this year. This may be in part due to the relative lack of flu cases over the last few years (due to the Covid-19 pandemic) resulting in reduced immunity against influenza. It is therefore more important than ever to get your flu shot this year.

As before, these clinics will happen in the evenings and on weekends. We will schedule short, booked appointments for flu shots only, to ensure our physicians don't run behind and everyone gets seen right on time. For any other medical concerns, patients are welcome to see our walk-in physician.
You do not need to be a patient at our clinic to come in for a flu shot. All patients (over the age of 6 months) are welcome!
We look forward to seeing you at one of our clinics!

The link below highlights the importance of 'herd immunity' that mass vaccination attempts to achieve:

(163) Herd Immunity - YouTube

10/26/2020

Dear Patients

Our online booking portal is now up and running!

We are still working on enrolling Dr Geambasu and Dr Bobocea, but online booking is available for all of our other physicians! We hope to have the last two physicians enrolled within the next day or two.
We are also still working on making online booking available for our flu clinic. This should also be done in the next day or two.

Please note that while most appointments can be booked via the online portal, there are certain specific appointment types that will need to be booked in person (either in clinic or on the phone). More information on this is available on our website.

We encourage all patients wanting to book their appointments to try the portal. It's quite simple to use and available 24/7.

The portal can be found on our web page here:

10/21/2020

Dear Patients,

Like many other businesses, we have struggled to remain viable over the last few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was further exacerbated by inadequate government funding for virtual care. We had to make difficult decisions in order to keep the doors open, including cutting staff hours, which greatly impacted on our ability to run smoothly. The onset of virtual care when the pandemic started resulted in our phone lines being utterly overwhelmed at times.

We survived the worst of it and started to recover. Operations were just starting to normalize when, a week ago, we were hit with another substantial challenge.

Another medical clinic in Windermere, facing similar operational and financial challenges, was forced to shut down abruptly. Their physicians needed someplace to go, to ensure that their patients were not abandoned without care, so we took them on. This has again resulted in a sudden, massive increase in workload for our team, which has again exceeded our phone lines' capacity. We are also running our flu shot clinics right now, which has further increased our call volumes.

We are working on fixes. We have hired additional staff, but it will take time to get them trained and fully functional with our operating procedures. We have started the process to set up an online booking portal to allow patients the opportunity to book appointments without having to call the office, but this will take a few weeks to implement.

We cannot apologize enough for the inconvenience we have caused you. We haven't suddenly become a poorly-run clinic. We are confident that the challenges we are currently facing will be overcome. We just need a little time to adapt to the increased workload that was suddenly thrust upon us. Our staff are doing the very best they can under very difficult circumstances at present. Our current struggles are not their fault. They have taken a lot of abuse from justifiably angry patients over the past week. Please be patient with them. Please be kind to them.

We will post a link to our online portal as soon as it's up and running. Until then, if we are unable to answer the phone when you call, send a text message to 780-466-6236 with your full name, phone number, and the doctor you are trying to reach, or leave us only one voicemail. Leaving us 5 voicemails for the same request just bogs our team down further, resulting in an even longer wait for us to get back to you.
One of our team will reach out to book your appointment as soon as they can.

We appreciate your patience.

Sincerely,

The Medical Director at WPMC

10/13/2020

Dear Patients

Flu season is upon us once again.

We are starting our flu clinics as of next week
These clinics tend to fill up quickly so book early!

Please note that we are still having some challenges with unprecedented call volumes (since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic), and we're working hard on addressing this. If you're unable to get through when you call, send us a text message at the office number (780 466 6236) and one of our team will get back to you as soon as they can.

We will be taking all necessary precautions to mitigate the risk of Covid-19 (rooming patients promptly to minimize patients in the waiting room, cleaning after each visit etc).

As before, these clinics will happen in the evenings and on weekends. We will schedule short booked appointments for flu shots only, to ensure our physicians don't run behind and everyone gets seen right on time. For any other medical concerns, patients are welcome to see our walk-in physician.

You do not need to be a patient at our clinic to come in for a flu shot. All patients (over the age of 6 months) are welcome!

We look forward to seeing you at one of our clinics!
The link below highlights the importance of 'herd immunity' that mass vaccination attempts to achieve:

A look at how vaccines and herd immunity can protect you, your family and your community. Videos courtesy of Health Canada. All contents may not be reproduce...

06/12/2020

Dear Patients
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives significantly. Access to healthcare continues to prove challenging. Physicians are retiring and clinics are closing, leaving many patients without a family doctor.

It is a well established fact that continuity of care (ie. having a medical home where patients have access to the same doctor and/or team of healthcare providers) improves health outcomes across the board. This includes a survival benefit (patients who receive ongoing care from a healthcare team they have a strong relationship with live longer).

With all the fear and anxiety that this pandemic has incited, it's also a really difficult time to not have an established relationship with a trusted doctor. With this in mind, we are expanding our capacity for meet and greet appointments to give more patients the opportunity to attach themselves to a family physician and medical home. Over the last 2 months we had put meet and greet appointments on hold due to the pandemic, as one of our measures to halt the spread of Covid-19. The unintended consequence of doing so has been denying patients who are looking for a family doctor to attach, leaving them feeling isolated.

We understand that the risks of Covid-19 spreading are still very real. For this reason our physicians who are accepting new patients are willing to do these virtually wherever possible. We realize that this isn't ideal (most patients who are attaching themselves to a new doctor would like to meet that doctor face to face at the first visit), but these are not ideal times.

We still have some excellent physicians who are taking new patients. Prior to the pandemic, they were filling up quickly. We expect this trend to escalate going forward. Call us soon if you're looking for a family doctor!

03/28/2020

Dear Patients
We understand that the COVID-19 pandemic has left patients feeling scared and isolated. We want you to know we are here for you.

All of our physicians are available to provide care for their patients. Given the current pandemic, we will do our best to keep people from coming to the office. If you have a medical need, please call the office, and we will arrange for your physician to call you back and provide medical advice. We are also looking at video-conferencing options, but we have to weigh up its benefits against the risk of a privacy breach. In cases where an in-person consultation is unavoidable, we have instituted the following operational changes to make your visits as safe as possible:

- when you arrive at the office, remain in your car, and call the front desk to check in

- our front staff will either advise you to come straight in, if we have an exam room ready, so that you don't have to spend any time in the waiting room; or

- our front staff will advise you to remain in your vehicle, and call you when an exam room is ready

- each room will be appropriately sanitized before and after your visit

- we are limiting the amount of in person visits to the clinic per day to the bare minimum to ensure optimized social distancing

Given the operational challenges we currently face with government funding for virtual visits, and some staff members off work self-isolating, we have taken the decision to shorten our hours of operation. We will be closing at 6pm from Mondays to Thursdays. We will still have staff manning the phone lines till 8pm and our evening physician will still be available for virtual appointments till 8pm. Friday and Saturday hours will remain unchanged for now.

Our after hours service is also still running, although care may also be provided virtually for these where possible.

Our walk-in physicians are still available to manage walk-in patients, but the above parameters will apply (ie. we will try to manage these patients virtually, and arrange only for those who need an in-person visit to come to the clinic).

One of the unfortunate consequences of this pandemic, is that patients with legitimate medical concerns are putting off getting them dealt with, because they're terrified to go to the doctor's office. These medical concerns are then becoming more severe, resulting in sicker patients needing more advanced care - sometimes hospitalization. This isn't ideal in the face of a pandemic.

Help us keep patients out of the hospitals. Call us if you're in need of medical attention

Sincerely,

Physicians and staff
Windermere Plaza Medical Clinic

10/14/2019

Dear Patients

Flu season is upon us! Be sure to get vaccinated to protect yourself and your loved ones! We are starting our flu clinics as of this week! These clinics tend to fill up quickly so book early!

As before, these clinics will happen in the evenings and on weekends. We will schedule short booked appointments for flu shots only to ensure our physician doesn't run behind and everyone gets seen right on time. For any other medical concerns, patients are welcome to see the walk-in physician.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our clinics!

The link below highlights the importance of 'herd immunity' that mass vaccination attempts to achieve:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqKP-ETVvrc

We look forward to seeing all of our patients for vaccinations over the coming weeks! :)

A look at how vaccines and herd immunity can protect you, your family and your community. Videos courtesy of Health Canada. All contents may not be reproduce...

07/22/2019

Dear Patients

We are very excited to announce our latest physician recruit, who is well known to the Windermere community.

It gives us great pleasure to welcome Dr. Kristen Hemrick to the team!

Dr Hemrick has been providing excellent care to patients in Windermere for the past year at another clinic in our community. She is an exceptionally talented physician, warm and friendly, with excellent clinical skills and a great bedside manner.

Like drs Rossi, World, and Leung, Dr Hemrick has a special interest in women's health and is proficient in IUD insertions, endometrial biopsies and related office gynaecologic procedures.

Existing patients of Dr Hemrick are welcome to see her at our clinic. Given that she has an existing panel of patients, she will only be accepting new patients for a limited period of time.

Dr Hemrick will be leaving her current practice on July 31st. She will be joining our practice as of the beginning of September. For the month of August, our existing team of physicians will happily provide care to any of her patients with pressing needs.

Dr Laura Mowbrey is also still accepting new patients, but wait times for meet and greet appointments have stretched to September due to overwhelming demand.

If you would like either of these excellent physicians to be your family doctor, call us at 780 466 6236 without delay!

06/24/2019

Dear Patients

Please note, we have no walk-in availability tomorrow (Monday 24th June 2019)

Our sincere apologie for the inconvenience

Sincerely
WPMC Management

06/24/2019

'Dear Patients

We have very exciting news!

Windermere Plaza Medical Clinic is proud to present, our Rapid Access IUD clinic!

No referral needed! Appointments within days - even same day if certain requirements are met!

For more information click check out the link below:

https://www.wpmc.ca/iud-clinic

We have also recruited two more excellent female physicians to our team!

Dr Lilah Rossi joins us from Vancouver. She is a very experienced family physician, who also does obstetrics. . She is accepting referral of pregnant patients for prenatal care right till delivery. She is part of an on-call group that delivers babies at the Misericordia Hospital!

Dr Laura Mowbrey hails from Alberta and has recently completed her residency training at the U of A. She is accepting new patients into her practice and is filling up quickly.

Both are well-rounded physicians with excellent bedside manner who relate well to patients. We are very happy to have them join our team!

If you are:

- looking for a family physician to look after your medical needs

- looking for a physician to manage your pregnancy right up till delivery in Windermere

- looking to have an IUD inserted without having to wait weeks to get in

Give us a call today! 780 466 6236

Medical Care at its finest! Accepting New Patients! Walk ins Welcome! After Hours Service!

11/19/2018

Dear Patients

Given the continued excellent turn out for flu clinics over the past couple of weeks, we will hold two more flu clinics in the next two weeks.

As before, flu clinic will be staffed by a dedicated physician between 3pm and 6pm. The next two will be held this Wednesday November 21st and next Tuesday November 27th. These will be quick, prebooked appointments (although we will accept same day/walk-in appointments if we have enough doses to go round).

We will continue to provide flu clinics throughout flu season, so call us for an appointment if you've missed these!

Remember: in order to achieve herd immunity, 75% of the population needs to be vaccinated.
And the importance of herd immunity? To protect our loved ones who can't be vaccinated (the newborns; the elderly and frail; our friends and family who are fighting cancers and other diseases that compromise immune systems).

Not only do we protect ourselves, we also protect them...

We look forward to seeing all of our patients for their flu shots this season! :)

A look at how vaccines and herd immunity can protect you, your family and your community. Videos courtesy of Health Canada. All contents may not be reproduce...

11/01/2018

Dear Patients

Given the continued excellent turn out for flu clinics over the past couple of weeks, we will hold two flu clinics next week.
As before, flu clinic will be staffed by a dedicated physician between 3pm and 6pm. They will be held on Monday and Wednesday (Nov 5th and 7th). These will be quick, prebooked appointments (although we will accept same day/walk-in appointments if we have enough doses to go round).

We will continue to provide flu clinics throughout flu season, so call us for an appointment if you've missed these!

Remember: in order to achieve herd immunity, 75% of the population needs to be vaccinated.
And the importance of herd immunity? To protect our loved ones who can't be vaccinated (the newborns; the elderly and frail; our friends and family who are fighting cancers and other diseases that compromise immune systems).

Not only do we protect ourselves, we also protect them...

We look forward to seeing all of our patients for their flu shots this season! :)