The opening months of Edmonton’s only refugee health clinic were hectic for Dr. Molly Whalen-Browne.
It was less than two years into COVID-19, the staff at the New Canadians Health Centre (NCHC) was still figuring out its workflow, and Canada was expecting 40,000 additional refugees from Afghanistan.
One day, 300 refugees arrived in Edmonton and were suddenly under her clinic’s care. There were similar waves of this — most came without much warning, and many people came with complex needs. Many didn’t know how to navigate the health-care system.
Whalen-Browne learned early on in her career that not everyone in Canada gets the same access to health care, even within the same city, which is why she works to fill in the gaps.
“We are so privileged to have what I consider to be a fairly robust health-care system in Canada,” Whalen-Browne says. “We need to work so that everybody is able to access that.”
As a co-founder of the NCHC and a physician, Whalen-Browne helps newcomers navigate the health-care system as they settle into their new homes.
“I think the best part, honestly, is these patients are amazing. They’re incredible. I learn so much from them that it makes every day really interesting and really enjoyable.”
This article appears in the Nov/Dec 2024 issue of Edify
