If you’re looking for a family doctor in Waterloo Region, you now have one more place to look.
A new medical centre officially opened Monday at The Boardwalk, the mammoth commercial development along Ira Needles Boulevard on the border of Kitchener and Waterloo.
Many of the 27 doctors who have signed on to practice at the facility have yet to move in – and normal new-building challenges like unpacked boxes and uncooperative telephones are still evident – but some doctors were ready to go right away, seeing their first patients Monday.
“It’s a great building, it’s in a great location and there’s going to be a lot of great conveniences for patients,” says Dr. Katerina Reizgys, who will practice in the facility.
In addition to family doctors, the facility will host a pharmacy – which is already open – a lab, and a number of other medical services.
“We’re going to bring in specialists, different clinics and other things the physicians have requested as being important to them,” says property manager Cynthia Voisin.
The Boardwalk marks Reizgys’ first home for her own practice, but she says she hopes to pick up 800 patients in her first year.
“We’re calling patients on the waiting list, calling patients on a list from retiring physicians,” she says.
The Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce estimates that 20,000 area residents are without a family doctor.
“It’s such an essential need,” says Voisin.
“By trying to provide the space for doctors to practice in the environment they’ve been trained in … hopefully we’ll attract more new graduates.”
A waiting list on the medical centre’s website attracted 4,300 requests from families looking for doctors.
