Innisfail Medical Clinic
#128, 4804 50th Street T4G 1C2 Innisfail, AB, Canada

We have had some confusion and issues with our phone lines this week and we apologize for any inconvenience. We are currently in the process of switching our phone lines to increase our capacity to take calls. On Wednesday, February 10 our phones will be down for up to two hours in order to complete the change, unfortunately we don’t know exactly what time this will occur. For our patients, you will continue to call (403) 227-3356 to book an appointment or get in touch with our clinic for other reasons, the phone number will remain the same. We hope this clears up any confusion!!

Way to go everyone!!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING PENHOLD MEDICAL CLINIC: Over the past few months, we have seen a rising number of patients within our area without a regular family physician. In order to provide the best care that we can to these patients and the community as a whole, and after a significant amount of thought and planning, we have decided to change the way that we offer medical care out of the Penhold Medical Clinic. As of this week, the Penhold Medical Clinic will be availa...ble for both booked appointments and same-day access appointments, both phone and in-person. It will be available to any current patients of the Innisfail Medical Clinic, as well as any patients who do not have a regular family doctor of their own and reside in Penhold, Springbrook, Innisfail, Bowden, and the surrounding rural areas. For those people in our area that have regular family physicians in Red Deer or elsewhere, we ask that you see your own family physician, so that he or she can provide you with the continuity that is essential to good medical care. For those that continue to see us at the Penhold Medical Clinic, we want to provide you with comprehensive, high quality medical care. Although you may not see the same physician at each appointment, your medical record will be accessible to each physician or health care provider that you do see, and you will have the opportunity to see some of our Primary Care Network colleagues to discuss things like screening, disease prevention and health promotion. We would ask that if you use the Penhold Medical Clinic as your family physician, you avoid going to multiple other walk-in clinics for non-urgent reasons so that we can provide you with continuity of care that we know is important to us and to you. We realize that change can be difficult and that not everyone will be pleased with the direction we are taking, however we feel it is the best way to continue to care for our community.

Science Up First is a coalition made up of independent scientists that aims to de-bunk a lot of myths about COVID-19. Their goal is to flood social media with scientific, accurate information to combat the misinformation that unfortunately has the potential to run rampant across social media platforms. Have a look at their most recent post about vaccination, and give them a follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok (whatever that is !). They also have a website at www.scienceupfirst.com that is worth it to check out.

As we reflect on a 2020 that none of us expected at this time last year, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our patients and community. You showed us your appreciation and support early on when the government began to attack our health care system, you stayed home and kept yourselves and our community safe in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and you have adapted and adjusted to new ways of delivering health care with changes like masks, phone appointments, and visits from the drivers seat of your car. We appreciate that this hasn’t been easy for everyone, and appreciate your patience with us while we navigate these new ways of delivering your care to the best of our ability. All the best to you and your families in 2021!

Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season to everyone! Despite some of the challenges this year has thrown our way, we hope that you are still able to celebrate and find joy in a safe and fulfilling way. Our clinic will be closed until Tuesday, December 29, when we will return to our regular hours.

We still have some bags available at the clinic. Ask your family doctor or a member of our staff or PCN if you are interested or know someone who would be!

We are a bit late to the party on this, but for anyone who was unaware, the government of Alberta introduced new guidelines and restrictions earlier this week to help combat the spread of COVID-19. They went into effect November 24, and will remain for at least 3 weeks. Please see the link below for a full list, and we encourage everyone to do whatever they can to limit contact and reduce the potential spread of this virus. To remain consistent with the government’s direction, we will be extending our policy regarding phone appointments for at least the next three weeks, potentially longer. Remember, if you need to be seen in person, we can still make that happen, but you need to speak with your physician first. Thank you all for your understanding and your help in keeping our clinic safe for everyone.

Come join Dr. Seeman on Innisfail Connects to talk about how to manage osteoarthritis in your own home! Happening now!

Over the past 1-2 weeks, there has been a significant uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases in the province, including central Alberta. You can stay up to date with new information, recommendations and restrictions at www.alberta.ca/COVID19. In order to keep our vulnerable patients and community, as well as ourselves and our families safe, we have made the decision to return to phone call appointments only, with a few exceptions, most notably prenatal appointments, newborn ...check-ups, and medicals that cannot be postponed. We want to emphasize that we remain open, you do not have to seek care elsewhere. When you call for an appointment, you will be given a phone appointment with your doctor or another doctor in the clinic if yours is unavailable. Once you have spoken with your doctor, if both of you feel an in-person appointment is warranted, this can be arranged in the safest way possible. If you have already booked an appointment for the next two weeks, you will receive a call to discuss changing this to a phone appointment, with the exceptions noted above. We anticipate this appointment format continuing for at least the next two weeks, but potentially longer as well. We will do our best to keep you posted. Stay safe everyone!

We hope that everyone has a chance today to reflect on the sacrifices of those who have served, and continue to serve, for our country and freedom. We will resume our normal operating hours tomorrow and Friday.

Check out some of these great programs that the team in Innisfail has been working on!

As many of you may already know, our very own Dr. Gerald Miller will be retiring from his practice effective December 31, 2020. For the last 42 years, Dr. Miller has been a steady presence in health care and family medicine in Innisfail, and has shown the utmost dedication to his patients, his colleagues, and his community. While we will be sad to no longer see him in the clinic and hospital on a daily basis, he has more than earned the opportunity to step back, and we wish ...him all the best in the years ahead. Our PCN panel managers are currently working to ensure all of Dr. Miller’s patients are taken care of by other physicians within our clinic. If you are a patient of Dr. Miller’s, you will receive a call either indicating who your new physician will be, or inviting you in to meet him or her in person. Please be patient, we are working through this as quickly as we can. If you need an appointment for a medical issue, please feel free to call and book as you normally would!

This is a succinct summary of what the ongoing conflict between the Alberta Medical Association and the Alberta government is about. Please consider visiting the website mentioned at the end of the article, www.patientsfirst.ca, to make your voice heard.

Frontline health care workers are not just doctors and nurses. Our hospitals and health care facilities would not run, we would not be able to do our jobs, and you would not get the care you deserve without the thousands of LPNs, HCAs, environmental services and food services workers across the province, among others. The government's plan to lay off 11,000 of these integral workers would be short-sighted and devastating to our health care system in a normal year, but even more so in the midst of a pandemic, a pandemic that these same workers have been present for since Day 1. We stand in solidarity with our colleagues as they fight for their jobs and for a strong, public health care system.

Starting today, we will be moving back to more in-person appointments! We will continue to offer phone appointments as well, please consider utilizing this if you feel your medical issue can be managed or started over the phone.

Here in Innisfail, we’ve been very successful at recruiting new physicians over the past 10 years. There’s a very good chance that the current relationship between government and physicians is going to drive new doctors away from Alberta and rural Alberta in droves. Please help us maintain the robust healthcare system we enjoy by telling our MLA, Devin Dreeshen, that the government needs to get back to the negotiating table with the AMA, and start repairing the relationship they’ve destroyed.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: There has been a recent increase in the number of COVID cases and hospitalizations in central Alberta in the last 1-2 weeks. As a result, we will be changing our appointment booking to phone appointments only (with some exceptions ie. prenatal appointments). After you and your physician speak on the phone, we will do our best to arrange any investigations, physical exam, or follow-up that is required. We fully understand that this is frustrating for ma...ny patients, it is frustrating for us too, however we feel that this is the best way to keep our patients, staff, physicians and community safe. These changes will go into effect Monday, July 27 until further notice. If you have a future appointment already booked, you will likely be receiving a call from one of our staff to switch to a phone appointment. Please remember that we are still open and available, and you can still speak with your physician for all of your health needs!

Please join us on this page on Sunday, July 19 at 7:30 pm for a Facebook Live Q + A with Dr. Seeman. He will do a brief COVID-19 update in our area, discuss some new developments in our government’s continued attack on health care, and hopefully have some time for questions. Please leave any questions you have in the comments below, or ask them live on Sunday evening. Hope to see you there!

There has been an outbreak of COVID-19 cases within the Central Zone over the past 5 days, including hospitalized and intensive care patients. We know the weather is nice, we know everyone has had a rough few months, but please remain vigilant against this virus by continuing to avoid large group gatherings, practice good hand hygiene, and most importantly, isolate yourself and call 811 to get tested if you are feeling at all unwell. Please continue to find the most up to date information at https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx

In case anyone needs a laugh tonight, this was seen at the intersection of Hwy 781 and 592 from our friends in Markerville.

Pincher Creek is one of the rural communities in Alberta where the doctors have made the difficult decision to stop working in AHS facilities due to the government’s unwillingness to negotiate in good faith or enter binding arbitration with Alberta physicians via the Alberta Medical Association. Tomorrow, their town is holding a COVID-safe rally including a parade and virtual displays to bring attention to the looming rural health care crisis, this will be available via Facebook live on the Rally to Rescue Rural Health Care Facebook page. Stay tuned for potential events coming our way this summer, and help us tell the Alberta government that rural health care is not expendable.

Here is the next Health Talk through Innisfail Connects! Click on the link to join at 1 pm tomorrow or call 403-227-2860 with questions about how to join. Talking about your or a loved one's personal directive or power of attorney may seem scary, but they are so important, no matter what age or stage of life you are in!

Since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, social and traditional media have been filled with stories, essays and pictures regarding race and racism in both the US and Canada, with protests happening across both countries, many under the banner of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Earlier this week, our town of Innisfail made national headlines when a planned peaceful anti-racism protest was postponed due to backlash from some individuals in the community...Continue reading

Dr. Danielle Cherniak joined us for the Innisfail Connects first Health Talk on Tuesday, May 19th at 1:00 pm. If you were unable to join us over the phone or online please listen to this 20-minute talk highlighting information about COVID, how the physicians in the community are available to support you with your medical needs during this challenging time, and an update on the resources available in town. Innisfail Connects hope that you will join in the next Health Talk on June 16th at 1:00 pm where Linda Masko, Social Work Student will speak on Planning for the future during uncertain times: Personal Directives, Enduring Power of Attorney and Self Care. Please see previous post for instructions on how to register. https://drive.google.com/open

Apologies for the late notice! We wanted to invite you to join one of our programs going on today through Innisfail Connects which is aimed at finding innovative ways to support you from home. Today Dr. Cherniak will be speaking about the supports in the clinic and community during the pandemic. She will also spend a little time discussing the coronavirus and COVID-19. There will be some time for a question & answer period at the end. If you are interested in joining, please click on the links to get more information and to find out how to join. Please consider getting involved with other programs put on by Innisfail Connects which are listed in the link as well. Spoiler alert: There will be a monthly live concert! Be well Innisfail and we hope to see you soon! (additional information and calendar available in link in 1st comment below)