McMaster Family Practice welcomes first patient at new downtown centre

As she sits in the bright, colourful waiting room of the new McMaster Family Practice in downtown Hamilton, Stephanie Venator-Paul can’t help but look back 38 years to when she became a patient at MFP.

Nearly four decades later, Venator-Paul was the first patient to visit the clinic’s new location on Monday, April 27.

She still recalls frequenting the old facility on the McMaster campus all those years ago, and marvels at how much has changed over the years.

“There was one nurse, maybe two doctors, a shared receptionist and probably four residents,” says Venator-Paul. “They’ve grown a little bit since then,” she adds with a laugh.

The clinic now has 20 family doctors, 19 allied health team members and 43 family medicine residents.

MFP and the Maternity Centre of Hamilton — both teaching clinics affiliated with the Department of Family Medicine — are co-located on the third floor of the new David Braley Health Sciences Centre.

READ: New McMaster building in downtown core named for David Braley

MFP has more than 15,000 patients from across Hamilton and surrounding areas, while the Maternity Centre cares for approximately 700 women a year.

“This new space will be really good for the team,” says Venator-Paul. “It’s exciting to see all this growth.”

Even with the rapid growth, the clinic maintains a strong commitment to a positive patient experience. Venator-Paul points to this as one of the reasons she has stayed a patient for all these years.

“I really like coming here,” she says. “They’re so friendly.”

While the experience plays a big part, Venator-Paul keeps coming back to the MFP because of her confidence in the quality of care she, and her family, receives from the team.

“They saved my husband’s life at least 10 times, and my son’s life too,” she says.

Talking about these stressful times in her life, Venator-Paul’s appreciation for MFP is evident.

With her husband’s health deteriorating, Venator-Paul convinced him to join her as a patient at MFP. The MFP team determined he had multiple illnesses to contend with and began addressing them immediately.

“The doctor got my husband in with a heart specialist quickly, which he really needed,” she says.

The MFP team continued to work with Venator-Paul and her husband to address his health concerns, which ranged from mild to serious. She credits the MFP team with giving her husband an extra 16 years of life.

Unlike with her husband, her son’s health scare was unforeseen and sudden at the age of four.

“It was just a regular, routine checkup, and before I knew it, he was being taken to the ICU,” she recalls. “They saved his life”

What’s been the result of all these experiences at MFP?

“I trust this team” offers Venator-Paul, as one of the Department of Family Medicine residents stops to introduce herself. “I’ve been a patient here longer than she’s been alive!”

As a teaching clinic, MFP offers a unique experience.

Students from programs across the Faculty of Health Sciences can be found in MFP, getting hands-on experience in a busy primary care environment. For patients, family medicine residents are an important part of the experience.

While at their appointments, patients meet directly with a resident. These interactions are monitored and overseen by a family physician, who also works together with the resident to provide the best care for the patient.

Residents have completed medical school, but are required to do a two-year residency before they can practice independently as family physicians.

“In 38 years, I haven’t had a bad experience with a resident,” says Venator-Paul. “They’re always attentive to me and my needs.”

The David Braley Health Sciences Centre will also be home to the Department of Family Medicine, City of Hamilton Public Health Services, and programs for continuing health sciences education, faculty development, education research development and the Foundation for Medical Practice Education.