$569,000 in government dollars announced for expansion of Yarmouth County medical clinic

By Eric Bourque and Tina Comeau

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The process to expand a medical clinic in Yarmouth County received a welcome shot in the arm over the weekend.

On Sunday, Sept. 13, MP Peter MacKay announced a Government of Canada and Province of Nova Scotia joint investment of nearly $100 million for infrastructure projects across the province. Included in the announcement was $569,000 towards the expansion of a medical clinic located in Pubnico Head.

The overall cost of the project is budgeted at $1.136 million. Alain Muise, CAO for the Municipality of Argyle, says the remaining balance of $567,000 is being divided equally amongst the three municipal units – Municipality of Argyle, Town of Yarmouth and Municipality of Yarmouth – at $189,000 each.

Once it gets underway, the expansion of the medical clinic will take about six months to complete.

It’s coming up on a year since the Yarmouth Area Industrial Commission announced an agreement had been reached with the Pubnico Head Medical Center regarding the transfer of ownership of the clinic to the commission.

Dr. Jackie d’Eon, the clinic’s previous owner, had approached the Municipality of Argyle in the spring of 2008, expressing concern over the overhead costs she faced in her clinic and asking the municipality to consider purchasing the building.

With the acquisition of the facility by the local industrial commission, the plan is to develop the Pubnico Head clinic into something similar to the Harbour South Medical Clinic in Yarmouth, another industrial commission project.

Dr. d’Eon and two employees work in the Pubnico Head clinic and there have been discussions with other physicians about having them move into the facility. The plan also is to have a nurse practitioner in the clinic.