There will be a staffing change at the Hawthorne Community Medical Centre in Kincardine in the new year.
Dr. Owen Montpellier will be taking over the family medical practice from Dr. Daniel Soong, who will be shifting his focus to Emergency Medicine at South Bruce Grey Health Centre in Kincardine.
Chrystel Murphy, who is the clinic manager at the Hawthorne Community Medical Centre says that they’re excited to welcome a new doctor to the community.
“It’s really exciting to have a new physician start practicing medicine in our community, and Dr. Soong will be switching to full-time emergency department work, which is also a win for our community as we strive to keep the emergency room open 24/7.”
Dr. Montpellier will be moving to the community from Sudbury with his wife Janique, and their two children.
He completed his medical degree at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and completed his residency in Family Medicine at Western University.
According to a media release from the clinic, Dr. Soong has been working 70 hours a week between the clinic and the emergency department, but the decision to stop practicing family medicine was a difficult one.
With two growing sons at home and growing demands at the hospital, a change had to be made.
“Dr. Soong is the chief of staff and also looks after the scheduling in the Kincardine ER, so being able to focus on that solely without also having a family practice to focus on is going to be beneficial,” says Murphy.
Dr. Montpellier officially takes over at the Hawthorne clinic in February 2024, and patients of the practice will be minimally impacted by the change.
