A new medical centre, featuring a husband-and-wife physician duo and a nurse practitioner, is now open in the village of Norwood.
The clinic, located at 17 Spruce St., is expected to be a welcome addition for the many residents of Asphodel-Norwood who don’t have a family physician or have to travel out of the area to receive care.
Meanwhile, those who do have access to primary care within the community previously raised concerns with the township about the village’s physician, Dr. Brendan Keogh, nearing the end of his practice. Residents identified the stability of family medicine in the community as their top priority in the township’s 2022-2024 strategic plan.
“The Township of Asphodel-Norwood took these concerns seriously and prioritized the creation of a roadmap that would lead to attracting new healthcare providers to our community,” the township noted in a media release.
Asphodel-Norwood is leasing about 4,000 square feet in the new Trillium Medical Campus building for medical centre space to support the team of physicians and the nurse practitioner recently recruited for the community, and to allow the opportunity for specialty services to be provided, such as foot care for seniors, a diabetes clinic and more.
The township’s roadmap towards providing local health care services included the leasing of the space and the onboarding of a nurse practitioner in partnership with the Peterborough Family Health Team.
“Those key steps in conjunction with many hours of relationship building and outreach have resulted in the final step of the roadmap being achieved,” the township stated.
Dr. Alex Cormier and Dr. Angie Ford, the clinic’s two doctors, are in the process of transitioning into the new space. A third physician, Dr. Ryan Hutcheson, is expected to join the team in July. The three doctors are supported by nurse practitioner Mary Walsh.
Ford grew up in Ancaster and spent a lot of time playing soccer competitively. She completed both her undergraduate and medical degree at Queen’s University in Kingston. She then went on to complete her residency at the Peterborough-Kawartha Queen’s Family Medicine training site, with some extra training in emergency medicine and intensive care. Ford said she is looking forward to sharing the medical practice with Cormier, who is her husband.
Cormier grew up in Ottawa and did his undergraduate studies at McGill University in Montreal, followed by medical school at Queen’s University. He completed his medical training through the Queen’s Peterborough-Kawartha Family Medicine Residency program, with additional training in emergency medicine.
Hutcheson grew up in Cobourg and spent the better part of a decade in the music business before going back to school. He completed his undergraduate studies and teacher’s college at Trent University, attended medical school at McMaster University in Hamilton, and completed his residency through Queen’s University.
Walsh completed a Bachelor of Nursing Science and primary care nurse practitioner program at Queen’s University and a Master of Arts in counselling psychology at The University of British Columbia.
To support the new health care team, the township invites residents to consider sponsoring medical equipment and furnishings for the space. Donations are also welcome. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.antownship.ca/healthcare.
The township encourages residents of Asphodel-Norwood who are not patients of Keogh and who don’t have a family doctor, along with those who currently travel outside of the Peterborough area to receive care, to call the municipal office to add their names to a wait list.
