The sound of rapturous applause echoed through the City of Colwood's council chambers on Monday (Sept. 23) when plans for a ground-breaking new medical clinic were given the official green light.

In partnership with Aroga Lifestyle Medicine and Pure Pharmacy, the city will open a new municipal clinic in 2025, which when fully staffed, will have the capacity to provide family doctors for 10,000 Colwood residents.

B次元官网网址淭en thousand Colwoodians are gonna be covered and that's a gigantic number,B次元官网网址� said Mayor Doug Kobayashi at the meeting. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 not going to be any municipality that has more people covered by a family doctor than Colwood.B次元官网网址�

The Colwood Clinic will be located at 345A Latoria Blvd. in Royal Bay, which will be leased and managed by the city. Eight family doctors will be recruited and employed by the city.

Outside the site of the new clinic, speaking to Black Press Media, Kobayashi describes a plethora of feelings about the milestone moment for the project B次元官网网址� relief, happiness and excitement, are just some of the words he uses.

B次元官网网址淚 couldn't sleep last night because I was so thrilled,B次元官网网址� said Kobayashi. B次元官网网址淭his is why I became a mayor. I think anyone could be on a council B次元官网网址� passing bylaws B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 all common sense. But doing something like this type of initiative, it affects the entire community more than anything else we can do.B次元官网网址�

The cityB次元官网网址檚 project was spurred on by a survey in December 2023 which found 69 per cent of Colwood residents listed the need for a family doctor as their top priority. Kobayashi himself knows all too well the importance of having a family doctor.

B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 realize how important it was until I suffered congestive heart failure,B次元官网网址� he said.

Two heart surgeries later, Kobayashi has recovered, but he now lives with diabetes. Which could have been prevented if he had access to a family doctor sooner.

B次元官网网址淚 was told B次元官网网址� we could have diagnosed this way earlier,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淎nd instead, it ended up costing the taxpayers a lot more money.B次元官网网址�

KobayashiB次元官网网址檚 experience was echoed by many at Monday nightB次元官网网址檚 meeting. One resident spoke at the meeting about her struggles to access health care, explaining she has not had a family doctor for three years. She described having pneumonia and being forced to wait for hours in the elements outside the Westshore Urgent Primary Care Centre.

B次元官网网址淭he [health-care] system is way past broken,B次元官网网址� she said. "And I think B次元官网网址� in my lifetime, it'll be a miracle if it's ever corrected. So I think any initiative to bring physicians to Colwood would be greatly appreciated by everyone.B次元官网网址�

Former Colwood mayor David Saunders also spoke at the meeting, praising the city for their plans. B次元官网网址淲hat you are proposing here B次元官网网址� is courageous,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t takes courage, itB次元官网网址檚 not [been] done before.B次元官网网址�

When councillors voted unanimously to advance the Colwood Clinic pilot project, the room packed full of residents who had turned out in force as a show of support, erupted into applause.

B次元官网网址淭hat was just pretty phenomenal to have that many people show up last night, and then the applause, it just caught me off guard,B次元官网网址� said Kobayashi. B次元官网网址淪o now the really hard work begins.B次元官网网址�

The medical clinic plans have been described as a blueprint for other municipalities who might want to follow in ColwoodB次元官网网址檚 trailblazing footsteps. Kobayashi noted that he has already been contacted by a representative of another municipality, keen to start their own clinic as soon as possible.

B次元官网网址淲e're showing some leadership here to be the first of such a model. I think it's brilliant,B次元官网网址� said Coun. David Grove. B次元官网网址淚 think every municipality will quickly roll this out.B次元官网网址�

According to city staff, it will take two to three years for the clinic to be fully operational. Once firing on all cylinders, they estimate 50,000 patients will visit the clinic annually.