Care In The Creek clinic in Bragg Creek is once again accepting new patients, thanks to a third doctor joining the practice in November. The Mountain Woods Health Board (MWHB) announced Bragg Creek resident Dr. Annelies Noordman is moving her practice from Calgary to the hamlet next month.
“We had a real revolving door with doctors for many, many years,” said MWHB chair Sharon Bayer. “Every year, people were looking for a new physician and it was awful. So we formed a board, approached Alberta Health Services about getting a clinic that would stay and collaborated with the Calgary Rural Primary Care Network to start a fundraising campaign.”
According to Bayer, $170,000 was raised in six to eight weeks, thanks to contributions from patrons and individual community members who donated what they could. The funding was used to build a clinic in Bragg Creek, with four exam rooms and two doctors. Care In The Creek clinic, named through a contest for local schoolchildren, opened its doors in October 2012.
“One of our commitments to the community was that sustainability was going to be our primary goal,” Bayer said. “People were nervous to leave their physicians and come back to Bragg Creek because they weren’t sure it would last.”
Part of that commitment, she said, was to bring in a third doctor to ensure all residents would have access to a local physician. The clinic had been closed to new patients for “quite some time,” Bayer said. Eventually, the board hopes to bring in a fourth doctor to provide freedom with working hours and holidays, and for succession planning in case one doctor was to retire.
With an aging population and many young families, Bayer said it’s important to provide reliable medical services to residents within the hamlet.
“The mean age of residents in Bragg Creek is over 50, and we had a lot of seniors who had difficulty accessing care because they don’t drive anymore and that was really becoming an issue,” she said. “We also have young moms with several kids and it’s a lot of work for them to pile all the kids in the car and bring them into Calgary if one kid gets sick. Both ends of this spectrum can have their needs met with a local clinic.”
Patients aren’t only hamlet residents, however. According to Bayer, residents from Springbank, Priddis, Jumpingpound and the surrounding areas all take advantage of the Bragg Creek clinic rather than driving into the city and paying for parking.
“Our clinic was created through a wonderful community initiative and it has such a community feel,” Bayer said. “We hear nothing but gratitude from our community members and we are really proud of what we’ve accomplished here. We are absolutely unique.”
