Thrive Family Health opened its doors thanks to a $30,000 forgivable loan which came from a partnership between the Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation (NDHF) and the Nanaimo Division of Family Practice (NDFP). (L-R) Executive director of NDFP Beccy Robson, CEO of NDHF Barney Ellis-Perry, and physicians Dr. Diana Ruffell and Dr. Shirin Madjzoub. (Submitted)

By Jordan Davidson

new family clinic

‘From a dream to reality:’ loan allows Nanaimo doctors office to open

Jan 31, 2024 | 6:35 AM

NANAIMO — A new family practice has opened in Nanaimo thanks to a generous forgivable loan to the tune of $30,000.

Thrive Family Health (5170 Dunster Rd.) opened its doors a few months ago, with the loan coming from a partnership between the Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation (NDHF) and The Nanaimo Division of Family Practice (NDFP) to help fund new family doctors in the mid-Island region.

Dr. Shirin Madjzoub with Thrive Family Health said this loan is one of the main reasons they were able to open their full-spectrum family practice clinic, along with a new family doctor payment model rolled out in late 2022.

“Overhead costs nowadays are exorbitant, and it makes it quite prohibitive for a lot of people to open practices, but this loan especially was really, really helpful, came right at the right time and allowed us to buy all of the critical equipment that we need in order to start seeing patients in a full-spectrum sort of a way.”

Madjzoub, along with Dr. Diana Ruffell, held their official ribbon-cutting ceremony last week, but have been seeing their patients in their new facility for a few months now.

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Both doctors previously practiced in Nanaimo, bringing their full caseload of patients with them to their new spot.

Thrive Family Health is operating at its Dunster Rd. location, just off Mostar Rd. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Madjzoub said they hope their story inspires other physicians to take the same route.

“We’re very very grateful for this, and I think it’s really going to open a door for others to feel empowered to do the same as what we’ve been able to do.”

The loan was used to purchase critical medical equipment like examination beds and diagnostic tools but also practical office materials like computers, printers, and scanners.

They also received a lot of support from the Nanaimo community.

“We got some wonderful equipment from the (Snuneymuxw) First Nations clinic and also we were able to find other equipment second-hand,” said Madjzoub. “We could not have done this on our own, we’re incredibly grateful for the whole community and the entire village that helped us to get this off the ground.”

She also thanks NDHF and NDFP for making it possible for them to open their practice.

“I think it sort of went from a dream to reality in a very short amount of time. They really got things done, it just gives me a lot of confidence that there’s a lot of support for new clinics to be established, it’s awesome.”

The clinic is also a UBC family medical learning centre where they’ll help train new doctors, and they are hopeful some will make their home in Nanaimo after becoming fully certified.

Thrive Family Health is the first recipient family practice to receive this forgivable loan.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow