Delburne Medical Centre Breaks Ground!
Ground breaks for new medical centre in Delburne, Alberta
Multi-doctor family medical clinic and pharmacy to open in fall 2018
March 19, 2018
On Monday, March 19 the Village of Delburne hosted a ground breaking ceremony to celebrate the start of a new medical centre project. Located on Main Street, the Delburne Medical Centre has been a joint initiative of the Village of Delburne, Red Deer County and Dr. Muti Kauchali, the centre’s medical director. Construction on the Delburne Medical Centre is expected to continue into the fall, when the medical centre will be open and the clinic will be accepting new patients.
This new facility will provide urgently needed primary medical care for the residents in a number of communities in Red Deer County, including Delburne, Elnora, Lousana, and Pine Lake. Mayor Bill Chandler explained, “most of our residents currently travel into Red Deer or Stetller, more than a 30-minute drive. This can be a real barrier to seeking needed care”.
In the 50’s, Delburne grew rapidly and had a resident doctor. SubsequentlyHowever, over the years medical spaces closed and thiswhich decreased the medical care to aonly one doctor who would provide short term, temporary visits. After he retired in the 1990’s there has not been a doctor servingto serve the area’s residents. It has been over 60 years since a clinic space has operated in the Village.
Dr. Kauchali, in explaining how the project started, Dr. Kauchali recounted how during his rotation at the Red Deer hospital he would meet people coming in for conditions that should have been treated much earlier. “They were saying that there were no family doctors in the area, so they waited and the situation would get worse. I started to look around, and they were right, there were no family medical practices in the area.” After multiple meetings with the Village council, they were able to develop plans for a purpose built medical centre right in Delburne.
The ground breaking was well attended by residents of the area as well as officials from the Village of Delburne and Red Deer County. Mayor Bill Chandler summed it up this way, “This is a great day for Delburne. A great day for the entire region”.
Background
The project entails a 7,500 s.f. facility that provides dedicated clinic spaces, a pharmacy, allied medical spaces, meetings spaces and a dedicated ambulance transfer bay. The clinic space will include exam rooms, consultation rooms, a procedure room as well as administrative spaces. This will allow services such as home care nursing to operate right in the clinic. As a purpose built medical facility, the Delburne Medical Centre will be fully equipped with modern equipment and allows for the latest in technology to be used. The medical centre will be located on the Village’s main street and support the Village’s main street revitalization strategy.
Dr. Kauchali talked about his approach to family medical practice and desire to create a ‘medical home’. When asked to explain that concept he said, “when everyone is able to have a family physician who takes a lead role in coordinating care, there are much better health outcomes”. Dr. Kauchali explained that the clinic will provide care for a range of acute and chronic medical services, including addictions services.
Originally from the UK, Dr. Kauchali lives in Red Deer County with his family and is actively recruiting physicians to join him in the new clinic space. He has over 15 years of experience in Family Medical practice and over 24 years as a medical doctor. He is currently a partner with the Sylvan Family Helath Centre in Sylvan Lake and is a clinic lecturer in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta.
Delburne was originally founded in 1910 and was a thriving railway centre in the early 20th century. It was named for Named for Delia Mewburn, sister of pioneer physician F.H. Mewburn. Dr. Mewburn had a critical role in the development of medicine in Western Canada and was the first clinical professor of surgery at the University of Alberta. Serving as a Colonel during WWI, he was chief of the surgical division of the Canadian Military Hospital in Taplow, England, and in 1918, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire.
For more information, contact:
Andrew Anderson, Project Manager
Anderson Business Consulting Inc.
#1720 - 10123 99 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3H1
(780) 566 - 1895