Dr. Clarence Graff is looking forward to the day Parkside Medical Clinic opens. It will be a homecoming for the doctor who spent the last few years on locums in Airdrie, Cochrane and Didsbury since the Associate Clinic closed.
“The motivation is care of the people who live in this area, to provide excellence in medical services for the community and the surrounding area,” Graff said.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to come back to Olds, to provide service for people here.”
Graff is trying to clear bureaucratic hurdles before his practice opens in the new year.
“The rules are such right now that recruiting doctors is very difficult so it will only be me at first. Then we will be actively recruiting after that,” he said.
“Everybody is hopeful that it will happen, but it kind of depends on government response.”
The former Associate Clinic site is undergoing “major renovation” for an optometry practice, belonging to Graff's daughter, Dr. Allison Adema.
The medical portion of the building is still intact, but needs new plumbing, cabinetry and other upgrades, he said.
Finally, Graff said obtaining hospital privileges “should not be a problem for new doctors to come to Olds.”
