Ahead of the curve

The Boyle McCauley Health Centre has been serving the population of the inner city for thirty years and is constantly growing and changing.

In 1979, members of our community saw their vision become reality with the opening of the Boyle McCauley Health Centre (BMHC). To this day BMHC is the only community owned and operated community health centre in the Edmonton area. For this we owe a great deal of thanks to the forward thinking individuals who worked together to ensure that health care would be provided in their under-serviced communities of Boyle Street, McCauley, and Norwood, and provided in a way that acknowledged the uniqueness and complexity of Edmonton's inner city. Thirty years later that vision still guides us as we adapt and expand services to reflect the changing needs of our community.

Many innovative aspects of the "community health centre" model, such as the use of NP's, alternative payment plans for physicians, and the use of interdisciplinary teams are now seen as mainstream in the delivery of primary care. The original goal of offering accessible, comprehensive, culturally sensitive primary care, provided by people who are willing to look at the whole person and include that person in decisions about their health care, remains relevant both for BMHC and for health care services in general. We have been very fortunate over the years to have our vision supported through a strong and vital partnership with the Primary Care Division of Alberta Health Services.