For people in Greater Sudbury struggling to find a doctor, some more help has arrived.
In Chelmsford on Friday, the grand opening was held for a long-awaited new clinic that will take care of thousands of patients.
Ursula and Klaus Heimann are thrilled to have a health clinic closer to home.
They're in their 80s and proximity means a lot
"It takes me 10 minutes to get here from Dowling, while going to Sudbury takes over a half hour," said Ursala.
"Especially challenging in the winter time," added Klaus.
"Since I am challenged with a poor hip I have to make a few trips to Sudbury every month"
While the clinic actually began taking patients back in March, Friday was the grand opening of The City of Lakes Family Health Team in Chelmsford.
"5,000 patients will be rostered to our physicians," said Dave Courtemanche, City of Lakes Family Health Team executive director.
The local MPP told CTV 30,000 in her riding don't have a family physician or nurse practitioner.
"This will make a world of difference," said France Gelinas, Nickel-Belt MPP
A nurse practitioner and a registered nurse are already working here and within a year, four family physicians will be full-time at the clinic
One of those doctors will be Dr. Kristie Herranen who returns from mat leave next week...
Herranen is from Espanola and she graduated from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.
"I started my practice here because it is such a small community," she said.
"A nice close-knit community and I knew there was a need for physicians.”
Friday was the final opening of four clinics like the Greater Sudbury area. The other three are in Val Caron, Walden and Sudbury.
