April 10, 2018
Three family doctors have relocated to the area and have joined the South Georgian Bay Community Health Centre’s team in the past 8 months. The Centre would like to officially welcome Dr. Chris Donald, Dr. Kevin Byron, and Dr. Susan Kaczmarek to their clinical team.
Our Community Health Centre operates similar to a family doctor’s office, working to provide medical care to individuals and families. These three doctors have joined the Centre’s Nurse Practitioners who provide medical care to clients. The Centre also has a team that provides mental wellness, nutrition, addictions and health promotion care to clients, and run programs that are free to the community.
Dr. Chris Donald began working at the Centre during the spring of 2015. He brings 41 years worth of experience to the team working in rural family medicine in Drayton, Ontario. He relocated to the area in the past 2 years because of his appreciation for snowboarding, road biking, and Nordic and alpine skiing. “I chose to continue practicing family medicine at the Community Health Centre because of the value I see in working with a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary team. We are all working under the same roof so our clients receive the ease of care they need,” explains Dr. Donald.
Dr. Kevin Byron joined the team in the spring of 2015 and shares his time between the Community Health Centres in Wasaga Beach and Midland. He has lived, studied, and practiced medicine in Southern Ontario region for most of his life – with the exception of 2 years spent on Vancouver Island as a rural Family Doctor, and one year volunteering with CUSO in Peru. While completing his Medical degree at McMaster University, he had a placement at a Community Health Centre. This placement piqued his interest in this concept of care, “It always stuck with me, I knew I would come back to it; it was just a matter of time… so here I am,” states Dr. Byron. “The collaborative and team approach to care has been a hallmark of care at Community Health Centres for decades, and I wanted to work at a place that respected the various contributions of different people working towards health promotion and community health.”
Dr. Susan Kaczmarek officially joined the team in February 2016. She comes to the Wasaga Beach area from Timmins, where she worked at a Community Health Centre and at a Sexual Health Clinic at the Health Unit. She has also spent time working at a Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Clinic at the Canadian Mental Health Association.
All three family doctors have been strong additions to the South Georgian Bay Community Health Centre with their knowledge of community health, work with marginalized communities, and vast experience with multi-disciplinary teams.
Anyone living in the area and in need of a family doctor or nurse practitioner should contact the Community Health Centre to book an appointment and receive registration forms. Everyone is welcome to become a client, especially if you face barriers to health. Call 705 422 1888 to book an appointment or drop by the Centre for more information at 14 Ramblewood Drive, Wasaga Beach, Unit 202.