How did we celebrate the UBC Health Clinic’s history?
On October 19th 2016, we gathered as many people as we could who shaped the journey of the clinic. This included
- Dr. Al Bogie, a founding member of the first family medicine teaching clinic in BC on Heather Street, from which evolved the Campus Community Health Centre (Mather Clinic) and then the UBC Health Clinic
- Dr. Peter Grantham, UBC’s first Department head of Family Practice
- Dr. Carol Herbert, 2nd Department head
- Dr. Robert Woollard, 3rd Department head
- Dr. Louise Nasmith, co-Department head
- Mrs. Erlene Woollard; Mr. Fred Swartz; Dr. Dan Froese a founder of the Shaughnessy teaching clinic, the other initial teaching unit for residents
- Mrs. Dan Froese; Dr. Verity Livingstone, the first woman hired into the department
- Drs. Peter Newberry, Stan Lubinand Willa Henry, prior Postgraduate directors
- Mrs. Lynn Newbery; Dr. Penny Miller, pharmacist with the clinic since 1976 and also a founding member of the Campus Community Health Centre; Dr. Suzanne Buckley, prior pediatrician
- Dr. Carl Wiebe, prior director and now psychiatrist with the clinic; clinic director
- Janet McKeown, clinic physicians
- Drs. Colleen Froese, Joy Russell, Susan Hollenberg, Serena Verma, Pierre Paul Lizotte
- Geeta, Kathie, Rowena and Spomenka, staff
- Sandy, Jan, Barb, Claire, prior staff
- Brian Lubelsky R2, Christina Sun R1, Mina Perez-Flores R1 and Shannon Rooney NPs, trainees
We shared stories. Al Boggie shared a story of how the Mather Building was started based on interest earned on a lump sum of money while the UBC carpenters were on strike in 1973. Others shared similar such memorable stories including Dan Froese, Peter Newbery, Bob Woollard, Pierre-Paul Lizotte, Geeta Kalha, Penny Miller and Janet McKeown.
Not everyone who shaped the clinic’s history was able to attend. Special mention should be made to directors and co directors of the clinic from it’s infancy, Bob Wilson, Bob Woollard, Art Van Wart, Carl Wiebe, Ian Scott, Christie Newton, Janet McKeown and Susan Hollenberg.
The teaching of family practice residents in BC has now expanded to include 17 sites and hundreds of clinics across the province, many of which are in rural BC. It truly is exciting to be a part of providing care to so many people in our community and teaching some of the next generation of family physicians especially during this time of much change.