Paisley Health Clinic Opens

Committee Chair Dale Stienhoff Looks on as Arran- Elderslie Mayor congratulates the residents of Paisley on their new Health Clinic.

As the Paisley and Area Health Clinic held its grand opening ceremony Friday afternoon, construction committee chair Dale Steinhoff kept his composure throughout most of the ceremony until the end of his remarks.
“I am very happy to stand here and say, health care has come home,” he said, as he became choked up at the prospect that the dream he and his committee shared is coming to fruition.
The nearly $400,000 project has been underway since Jan. 2007. Construction on the building began this past May, a year after fundraising commenced.
The construction committee has raised $345,000 to date. Coupled with $35,000 of in kind donations, the project is $5,000 short of its total.
“It’s a great building,” said Arran-Elderslie mayor Ron Oswald. “It’s a great day for the village of Paisley and the area surrounding Paisley.”
The clinic will provide services to residents under the auspices of the Brockton and Area Family Health Team.
A number of health professionals, including a nurse practitioner, will be staffing the clinic on a rotating basis.
The four exam room, 2,250 square foot clinic is state-of-the-art and is wired for video conferencing to the central office in Walkerton “All patient records will be at the staff’s fingertips,” committee member Dave Barrett explained while giving tours of the new building.
A doctor has yet to be brought into the clinic, something Oswald is confident will happen now that the clinic is open.
“Doctor recruitment is ongoing, and that will come at some point,” he said. “But the big job is done now. It’s a matter of keeping on top of things and getting the right people in the right places.”
Prior to undertaking the project in January 2007, a survey of Paisley and area residents indicated at least 150 people in a eight-kilometre radius around Paisley had no doctor. Another 1,500 people are expected to access the clinic on a regular basis once it is operational next week.
Oswald believes the medical clinic will help Paisley appeal to even more new residents. “If they know there is a medical clinic, they’ll think of coming to Paisley to retire, or build a home here,” he said.
For Steinhoff and his committee, the opening of the clinic is near the end of their mandate, the culmination of nearly two years of public service. “The work for committee is just about wrapped up,” he said. “Certainly, some members of our committee will continue to be involved with Brockton and Area Family Health Team.”