When it comes to medical clinics here, it is a clear case of – if they renovate it the doctors will come.
Councillors here reviewed an application June 6 from doctors Nipun Madan and Seema Gupta to amend the zoning on the front portion of a property to highway commercial, to allow a medical clinic.
“The clinic would host a family health team with a focus on health promotion and prevention and would occupy the 1,200 square feet on the main floor only. The practice would have 1.5 full time equivalent practitioners and one full time equivalent employee. We expect to see about eight patients per half day,” they wrote.
Madan said he is a family doctor and lives in Aberfoyle, and has practiced in the area for the past 11 years. “We want to relocate our practice to 28 Brock Road North.”
The plan is to renovate the inside, with only modest exterior updates. “We will refresh the outside with new siding, windows and possibly landscaping.”
He said the application is to rezone only the agricultural portion of the property to commercial to operate the clinic.
The county official plan designates the property as residential – which does allow a clinic.
Parking would be expanded on site.
Councillor Susan Fielding asked if the practice would be full-time.
The answer was yes, and Madan estimated 16 patients per day.
Fielding was curious if there would be other uses, or if it would strictly be a family clinic.
While there would be no laboratories, Madan said the clinic operates as a family health team, so there is potential of other specialists such as a dietician coming in as needed.
“But it is all services-related,” he said.
Fielding suspected most of the client base is Guelph, and asked if there is potential of the doctors taking Puslinch residents.
Madan said, “We were approved as a family health team last year and we have been taking on patients.”
He estimated by the time move happens, the client list will be fairly full, “but we always take patients through Health Care Connect.”
Madan hoped to be able to be part of community-based events as well, possibly at the community centre or in schools. “We do have funding for health care promotion.”
Even if a person is not a patient, he said, “We still may be able to reach out to them with our programs.”
Fielding said there are a number of local people looking for a physician.
Madan said a comprehensive site plan is in the works to show parking and physical features of the property. Unlike the original proposal, there is no longer a plan to construct an apartment in the basement.
Councillor Jerry Schmidt welcomed the proposal and said the clinic will be an asset to the community.
Mayor Dennis Lever asked about the number of physicians involved.
Madan said there would be one full time and one part time.
Lever asked what would be required to expand the operations at some point.
Madan said the idea is only to use the main floor. There is no additional space for expansion. “If we wanted to bring in another physician … there would have to be a whole new building somewhere in Puslinch.”
Council directed staff to set a date for a public meeting about the plan.
