The Town of St. Paul turned down an offer to buy the Brindawan Family Medical Clinic because it did not fit with the overall vision of the plan for the Wellness Centre, said Mayor Glenn Andersen in a meeting with the Journal Wednesday morning.
The Town signed an agreement with doctors at the Associated Medical Centre which indicated they were willing to move and that the Town would buy the building in order to convince the province to contribute funding, said CAO Ron Boisvert.
“The province would not have given us any money if we don’t have a commitment from the nine doctors,” he said. “The Town will make use of that building.”
After doctors move over to the Wellness Centre, the Associated Medical Centre could be renovated to house a merged County and Town FCSS, a proposal which is still under discussion, said Boisvert. Other options could be to move Parent Link, the Town’s peace officer or the administration for the MD Foundation to the building. The Town would also consider making the building wheelchair accessible.
Dr. Isphara Ellaurie claims he never received a reply to a letter he sent to the Town in October, 2010, offering to sell his medical office building and a nearby parking lot, saying he plans to go into semi-retirement and eventually leave St. Paul in three to five years.
The medical committee discussed the offer at a meeting on Dec. 29, 2010, at which Town representatives said it saw no future in that option. Town council discussed the offer in camera, which the public is not allowed to hear, and made a decision in January at a meeting. The Town supplied the Journal with a copy of the letter sent on Jan. 11, 2011, informing Ellaurie his offer had been denied.
Ellaurie received a letter advising him the offer would be brought up at a committee meeting but insists he never heard a reply to his offer.
“We are not going to replace our new Wellness Centre with this,” said Boisvert. “It doesn’t make sense to have three or four doctors, we want 10 to 15 doctors.”
The Brindawan clinic would not have enough parking for the amount of traffic expected even with the parking lot also offered for sale beside the Elks Hall by Ellaurie, and could not accommodate the “vision” for the Wellness Centre, according to Andersen. The vision includes offering medical services nearby shopping and space for 10–15 doctors. Andersen sees St. Paul as a future “health hub.”
“It’s not the vision we had,” said Andersen. “We’re taking it to a new level. It’s a health and wellness centre.”
The centre hopes to offer MRIs, bone density scans and other services people leave town to receive, he said. “We’re not trying to get caught up in a bunch of politics. We’re trying to see a vision of where health care can go in the future.”
The County of St. Paul, a partner in the Wellness Centre, is not involved in the buy out of the Associated clinic.
