Life-changing services: New clinic catering to military veterans and RCMP officers opens in Mount Pearl
Edward Burke, a retired Canadian Armed Forces veteran, said he faced many challenges in accessing care after leaving military service. He believes the new clinic will help him to finally receive the care he has been looking for. Cameron Kilfoy/The Telegram
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St. John’s military veteran felt “pushed aside” when accessing health care after getting out of the service and hopes the new clinic will help him to finally get relief.
After 33-and-a-half years of service in the Canadian Armed Forces, Edward Burke felt "pushed aside" when trying to access health care and benefits.
Due to back damage, the St. John's resident said he lives in pain constantly.
“I had surgery on my back but they will not do any more surgery until it comes to a point where I can't walk,” said Burke.
Burke also broke his wrist during his time in the service, which was misdiagnosed as a sprain. He spent a decade fighting the misdiagnosis.
“After I got out of the forces, I saw a doctor and he sent me for MRI, and scans came back that it was broken,” said Burke.
“And because it didn't heal properly, he had to break it again and take a piece from my hip and put it into my wrist.”
New clinic
Burke felt "pushed aside," because of his challenges in receiving adequate care.
He's hoping he'll finally get some relief as a new clinic that specifically caters to military veterans and RCMP officers opened in Mount Pearl on Sept. 25.
Echelon Wellness, located on Topsail Road, offers a range of services, including chiropractic, osteopathy, physiotherapy, massage, pedorthics, individual counselling and group counselling.
Igor Gimelshtein, the chief executive officer of Echelon Wellness, said the clinic serves as a one-stop solution to care for the veteran and RCMP community to remove barriers to accessing care.
Mount Pearl was chosen as the second location for an Echelon Wellness Clinic due to its large number of underserved veterans, RCMP and active service personnel, said Gimelshtein.
Creates easier access
Burke said the clinic will make it easier for him to get his treatments.
“For me, I am hopeful that it will get rid of some of the pain that I got, especially in my back and legs,” said Burke.
"And it's all under one roof, meaning you don't have to go switching from one place to another."
Burke believes it will be a great resource of other veterans, especially those who don’t know where to seek help.
"This place is here, and if it's not in this building, they can help them find it," said Burke.
Though the official opening of the clinic was Sept. 25, Gimelshtein said the clinic has soft-launched over the past six weeks, seeing over 100 patients.
Gimeleshtein said since opening doors, he's heard clients call their services "life-changing."
“That's what I’ve heard from those that didn't know they were entitled to services, who we've now brought through the whole spectrum, from the assessment to the financial award to providing services,” said Gimeleshtein.
“And also those that are entitled to benefits that didn't have a place where they could use them.”
Mental, physical and sexual wellness
Those who can avail of Echelon Wellness services can expect both mental and physical health services and sexual wellness services.
“We have an erectile dysfunction treatment that is non-medicine related, and we're getting incredible results with it,” said Dr. Stephen Crummey, medical director for Echelon Wellness.
According to Crummey, erectile dysfunction is a common condition among this demographic.
“We're going to have better results with that than any other clinic in the country that's using this technology because we're also taking care of the physical and mental health of the veteran,” said Crummey.
They've already put 100 people through the program and have had nearly 100 per cent compliance, meaning people are coming back and not missing appointments.
Because of this, he's seen up to 80 per cent improvement in those patients.
Offering assessments
Crummey is a retired Canadian Armed Forces anesthetist with 29 years of service.
Crummey has a team of 10 at the clinic, made up of nurse practitioners, chiropractors, physiotherapists, registered massage therapists, social workers and psychologists.
The clinic is free for veterans and RCMP officers, with all services covered by Veterans Affairs Canada or Blue Cross.
Besides catering to wellness, Gimeleshtein said they also offer mental and physical health assessments that are used to help veterans apply for pensions and access health care.
“We walk the veteran through all the services that they're eligible for, and we actually help to increase their entitlements,” said Gimeleshtein.
“And what we found is bringing all these things together helps tremendously to improve outcomes.”
Making them comfortable
Gimeleshtein said Echelon Wellness creates a space where veterans and officers feel comfortable.
“While some may have been able to go get services elsewhere, those clinics serve primarily civilians,” said Gimeleshtein.
“They don't quite understand what it takes to provide the standard of care that veterans need and deserve." That's something unique they focus on.
“Veterans oftentimes feel more comfortable with other veterans, not with civilians," he said.
Gimeleshtein hopes to serve hundreds of patients in the Mount Pearl clinic.
He added their success is going to be measured by patient outcomes and, with their success, they could open more clinics.
"We plan to opportunistically evaluate other locations in Newfoundland, while we scale across the country," said Gimeleshtein.
"But we will not open a clinic until we have staff. And not just staff, but staff that are excellent."
