Category: Clinic news

In January 2002, in the shared office of a local chiropractor, I saw my very first patient as a Naturopathic Doctor. At the time, it seemed like every person I spoke to asked, “What’s a naturopathic doctor?”

A lot has changed since that cold January. One patient led to another. And then another. In 2003 we moved to the Erie Street Medical Building where we spent five years, and Dr. Shelby Worts joined the team. We also started offering intravenous vitamins and minerals, a treatment that was far less common then, but now has found mainstream exposure.

We grew again and moved to our present location, were we added hydrotherapy and two new team members at the front desk. Dr. Kendra Reid joined us three years ago and we recently welcomed our newest naturopathic doctor, Dr. Candice Soldaat.

It’s been a slow, steady, but more than anything rewarding process. Every time we grow, it means we’re helping more people feel better, and every year I think we get better at it. I’m thrilled to share that this week we celebrated the 5,000th patient at StoneTree Naturopathic Clinic.

Those 5,000 unique souls have brought more than their health challenges to us–they’ve brought us an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to do what we all became doctors to do in the first place: to care.

As we make plans for our next transition to our new clinic home, I want to thank you all for trusting us with your health, and that of your family, friends, and colleagues. It’s an honour. Thank you, too, to my amazing colleagues and team here at StoneTree—I don’t know how, or what, I’d do without you.

I often tell patients that health is a journey. It turns out that health care is, too. Thank you for being part of mine.

Yours in good health,

Tara Gignac, ND

For many years we’ve been ordering lab tests for patients. It’s a great way for you to have input into what tests you want, and how often—after all, when you pay for your own lab tests, you’re in charge. It also lets you request tests that simply aren’t available through OHIP, like serum levels of vitamin D, for example.

Some patients, however, still like to have some or all of their lab work done through their MD. In the past, we’d have to requisition those results from the MD—a process that was cumbersome for patients and doctors on both sides.

CC’s for Everyone!

Naturopathic Doctors are now regulated under the Regulated Health Care Practitioners Act. It’s the same act that regulates all health professionals in the province, from medical doctors and nurses, to physiotherapists, chiropractors, and more. And that means one more barrier to working together has been removed.

When you get a requisition for lab tests from your medical doctor, there is a section that says “copy to”. When your naturopathic doctor’s name is put in this section the lab results will automatically be copied to that ND. No more signing of “Release or Records” and waiting for results to arrive. The reverse is also true—when we add your MD’s name to the “copy to” field, your medical doctor receives a copy, too.

This is great for us because we get your labs faster, and great for your MD because they don’t have to deal with cumbersome release of record requests. Mostly, though, it’s great for you, the patient, beacuse you have more control over your health care information.

When ND’s were regulated under the Drugless Practitioners Act if was more difficult for the professions to work together and share information. Collaborating just got easier!

StoneTree Clinic welcomes our newest member to the team, Dr. Candice Soldaat, ND.

Candice completed a clinical placement at StoneTree in the early part of this year and has since written and passed her naturopathic board exams. She will be joining the team here at StoneTree on November 2, and brings a keen interest in helping patients with hormone imbalances and infertility.

For all of you who would prefer evening and early morning hours, or for those friends and family you have been trying to refer who work out of town or can’t get time off, Candice is looking forward to seeing them on Mondays and Fridays.

Her hours are:

MONDAY – 2PM – 8PM

TUESDAY – 9AM – 5PM

THURSDAY – 9AM – 5PM

FRIDAY – 8AM – 1PM

To book your slot, call the clinic at 705-444-5331 or email–we know they’ll fill up fast!