Seven doctors to leave Heart of Ottawa Medical Centre

By Matt Gergyek

The Heart of Ottawa Medical Centre on Elgin Street has become a centre of controversy after seven of its doctors announced they are leaving the downtown location next March to set up a new practice elsewhere in the city.

Clinic landlords Chantal and James Dumont said in a letter sent to patients — and posted both to the clinic’s website and, temporarily, its front door — called the doctors’ decision to leave “incomprehensible”.

In their letter, the Dumonts described how they first opened the Heart of Ottawa Health Centre in 2011, dedicating “all of (their) savings … to build it and subsidize it up until it was staffed by (seven) family physicians who would then ensure (its) self-sustainability.

“People living in the (Centretown) area and the Golden Triangle area, also known as the Heart of Ottawa, were given priority to be registered” because it was area part of the city “underserviced by family physicians,” the Dumonts had stated.

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But after six years, the Dumonts said they were still subsidizing the clinic’s operational costs.

“We approached the (seven) physicians to renegotiate their agreements and when that effort failed we offered to sell them the clinic (at a competitive price) so that they could then control their own expenses and run it as they wished,” the Dumonts wrote..

In the end, the Dumonts’ negotiation efforts failed. But they said the clinic would remain open until March 15.

In an email exchange, Dumont — who also owns White Cross Dispensary, a pharmacy located next door — underlined the fact that “patients are not losing their family physicians” and will remain “under the care of the same doctor” they currently visit at the clinic.

However, for patient Sandy McDonald, facing the possibility of having to trek elsewhere in the city to visit her doctor is upsetting.

“I’m very disappointed … I only live around the corner. It’s so easy to get here,” she said.

McDonald said in an interview outside the clinic that her doctor told her “they cannot relocate in the downtown area,” but were looking for a place not too far away with parking and bus access.

Meanwhile, patient John Armstrong, who said he has been coming to the clinic for three years from Westboro, was indifferent to his doctor’s relocation.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll follow my doctor to their new practice,” he said. “The transportation (system) here is good … so it’s not an issue.”

Patients received a notice via email from the seven departing doctors in late September, about a week before the Dumonts issued their reply.

“While change can be difficult, we are excited to open our new practice” and “plan to make the transition as smooth as possible,” said associate lead physician Dr. Laura Chow in the letter obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, adding that the doctors were “in the process of finalizing (a) new location”.

Dr. Chow is joined by lead physician Dr. Neil Rogers, along with Dr. Marc Boisvenue, Dr. Kyle Mylrea, Dr. Brie Rosenberg, Dr. Sarah Saliba and Dr. Marta Fundamenski. The relocation would still leave two doctors at the clinic, Dr. Michael Cain and Dr. Stephen Chesine, according to the centre’s website.

Patient Terri McGarry was careful not to jump to conclusions until all information is available.
“I was on a provincial wait list for a family doctor for a long time before getting on Dr. Saliba’s roster of patients. I don’t take her care for granted. I don’t know the details of the dispute, but I trust my doctor,” McGarry said.

Dumont said since the publishing of both letters that “one physician … has decided to stay at the current location” and added he is “currently recruiting” to have other physicians join the clinic.

All of the clinic’s doctors who could be reached declined to comment on the issue.