News Archive > June 24th, 2003: KDH Health Centre to welcome new physician
Kemptville District Hospital
2675 Concession Road, Kemptville, ON K0G 1J0
Tel: (613) 258-6133; Fax: (613) 258-7853
June 24, 2003
KDH Health Centre to welcome new physician
The KDH Health Centre will soon be home to a new full-time physician specializing in family medicine.
Scheduled to begin working at the health centre in the last week of July, Dr. Eric Wooltorton said he was drawn to North Grenville because the area offers "the best of both worlds:" rural living with urban amenities.
Referring to Kemptville as possibly the "best kept secret in Eastern Ontario," Dr. Wooltorton said the community is a great location that's "close to everything."
Dr. Wooltorton joins Dr. Emily Conway, who is working at the health centre two mornings each week. Originally from Ottawa, Dr. Wooltorton graduated from Queen's University medical school in 1999 followed by training in family medicine at the Civic Site of the Ottawa Hospital. Most recently he has been doing locums, temporarily filling in for doctors taking time off.
Family medicine appealed to Dr. Wooltorton because he enjoys "taking care of people of all ages." He also finds that his involvement as a writer and editor for the Canadian Medical Association Journal is a good source of information on new medical developments.
Dr. Wooltorton noted he is pleased that the KDH Health Centre will be moving to an electronic medical record, which offers numerous advantages over paper records. One advantage is that reminders will automatically come up when a patient needs a particular test. Given the notorious penmanship of physicians, Dr. Wooltorton added, electronic records are a lot more legible.
In his role as a lecturer at the University of Ottawa, Dr. Wooltorton hopes to encourage medical students and residents to come to the area to work. It is hoped that once these students and residents experience all the advantages of working in a rural community, they will chose to establish a practice here.
A resident of Barrhaven, Dr. Wooltorton will be commuting to the area and will probably not be doing emergency work. However, with a lengthy waiting list of patients, he added, "I have the feeling there will be as much need as I can fill."
"I am delighted that Dr. Wooltorton has chosen North Grenville," said Kemptville District Hospital Executive Director Lynne Budgell. "We're confident that he will be a great ambassador for the community, and he will provide invaluable assistance to us in attracting new physicians to this community."
Dr. Wooltorton's wife Susan, a speech therapist, is taking some time off work to care for the couple's two boys, Gabriel and Ian, aged 18 months and three years.
For more information, contact:
Lynne Budgell
(613) 258-6133 ext. 132