Kimberley Residents Have Increased Access to Primary Health Care Services and Resources

The Kimberley Medical Clinic is celebrating recent renovations and expanded team-based care resources that will improve residents access to healthcare services. These advancements reflect 18 years of dedication, innovation, and investment by local family physicians.

The Kimberley Medical Clinic is a privately operated family practice, funded and sustained by its physicians. For over a decade, the clinic has prioritized creating a Patient Medical Home, which unites health professionals under one roof to provide seamless, coordinated care. Collaborating with partners like Interior Health, they’ve built a multidisciplinary team to enhance patient services.

"We work closely with Allied Health colleagues to ensure our patients' medical journeys are efficient as possible," says Dr. Lunge, a Kimberley Family Physician. "We embraced the Patient Medical Home model long before it became a buzzword, pioneering patient-centered care that has inspired similar initiatives across the province.”

Dr. Lunge adds, "The regional implementation East Kootenay Primary Care Network (EKPCN) has supported and advanced our clinic’s vision, but Kimberley was uniquely prepared to integrate PCN services, having adopted the collaborative care model well before its provincial launch."

Lunge notes Kimberley Medical Clinic physicians have built infrastructure within their clinic through grants and personal investments and advocated tirelessly for the resources needed to support team-based care. This innovative model has also proven to be an effective recruitment tool, helping attract new physicians to the region.

“Our clinic is not just about treating illnesses—it’s about creating a system, alongside like-minded health professionals and colleagues, that works for family doctors and their patients,” said Dr. Lunge. “We find this can be a very attractive model for prospective physicians, because it fosters a healthy work-life balance and collegial environment.”

Another example of the clinic’s solution-based approach to healthcare is the Doctor of the Day program, which ensures all Kimberley residents, including unattached patients without a family doctor, have access to same-day medical appointments.

“This program has been a lifeline for our community,” said Dr. Lunge. “It allows unattached patients to access timely care while connecting them to the broader team of allied health professionals available through the Primary Care Network.”

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New PCN space expansion complete at the Kimberley Health Centre

The recent expansion of the provincially funded PCN spaces at the Kimberley Health Centre, completed in partnership with the Kootenay East Regional Hospital District, Interior Health, and the Kimberley Health Centre Society, is another milestone that will enhance care delivery at the Kimberley Medical Clinic.

Located on the main floor of the Kimberley Health Centre and co-located next to the Kimberley Medical Clinic, this PCN expansion includes one treatment room, two exam rooms, three consultation rooms and workstations supporting up to eight clinical staff in the facility.

The new PCN space allows for the expansion of the PCN team and provides the Kimberley Medical Clinic with the opportunity to relocate its Doctor of the Day program, freeing up exam rooms for physicians to accommodate more patients.

“This is a significant milestone for the East Kootenay Primary Care Network with the addition of a new space in the health centre, which will allow us to complete the implementation of the Kimberley PCN team,” says Shannon Statham, Director, Clinical Operations. “The team will include registered nurses, a social worker, a mental wellness clinician, a dietitian, a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, a respiratory therapist, a clinical pharmacist and an Aboriginal Care Navigator working as a team with the Kimberley Medical Clinic physicians and medical office assistants to serve patients.”

These primary care services are accessed by referral through the Kimberley Medical Clinic.

“As physicians, our goal is first and foremost to provide excellent care. The renovations, both in our clinic and the Kimberley Health Centre, as well as the continued implementation of team-based care, allows us to better serve our community by improving access, increasing efficiency, and growing our capacity to attach more patients,” said Dr. Lunge. “I'm proud of my colleagues who have worked so hard to bring this vision to reality. We can’t wait to unveil this expansion to our community who deserves the best healthcare that we can provide."

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