Dr. Hendrick will be returning from maternity leave as of September 2024 and is looking forward to seeing her patients again. Unfortunately, due to family considerations, Dr. Hendrick will be less available and waits for routine visits and follow-ups will likely be longer than both you and she would prefer.

We thank you for your patience so far, but we realize that you may wish to consider switching to a different family physician who is more available.

(Unfortunately, the other doctor’s in our office do not have availability as their practices’ have been full for quite some time).

If you do decide to transfer elsewhere, please know that we understand and will endeavour to help make the transfer as smooth as possible.

The eBooking service has been taken offline today due to a transition in our computer systems. We hope to have our new computer systems in place within the next 2-4 weeks.

In the meantime, please phone our main line (905-726-8332) for booking appointments by voice.

Alternatively, you may use your cell phone to text us at 905-955-9211 for booking requests

(non-urgent only as text messages are handled when there is a break in the office flow.)

Dear patients, 

First of all, thank you for your patience with us as we figured out this office transition. As most of you know, I have been in the process of finding a new physician to take over my practice. The motivation for this is to allow me to devote more time to my family, but I want to emphasize that I, myself, am well. Thank you for all the well-wishes – I truly appreciate your kindness and concern.

I’m pleased to announce that Dr. Melanie Wong-King-Cheong will be taking over for me full-time as of January 2022. Dr. Melanie Wong has been covering some shifts for me since October, so many of you have already met her. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario in London and completed her family medicine residency training at the University of Toronto. 

We have been working alongside her and I’m confident that you will find Dr. Melanie Wong to be kind and conscientious as well as an excellent clinician.

Dr. Melanie Wong will be available in-person and virtually (by phone). I would highly encourage you to make an appointment in the next few months to meet her if you haven’t already. This would also be a chance to get caught up on routine tests/immunizations that may have been delayed due to the pandemic. 

For patients who wish to continue with Dr. Melanie Wong, our staff will have a form for you to sign at your next visit so that you will continue with our practice.

In the meantime, I will still be seeing some patients over the next few months, as part of an effort to get caught up with pandemic-delayed cancer screening. If you would like to come in just for one last chat with me, please call to book an appointment with me (if you have any new medical concerns, I would encourage you to bring those to Dr. Melanie Wong, so she can coordinate any future investigations/follow-up). 

As I mentioned in my last letter, I expect that I will still be around occasionally at the office, perhaps covering for the other physicians, so I may still see you in the future. It has truly been an honour to be of service to you and your families over the last 2 decades and I wish happiness and health to all of you.

Yours sincerely, 

Alice C.N. Wong. MD

September 22, 2021

Dear patients,

I hope that you and your families are keeping well during this pandemic.

I wanted to let you know about changes coming to my practice over the next few months. As most of you know, I have been working very restricted hours since last year and I apologize for the inconvenience that I know this has caused you.

After much reflection, I feel it best that I step back from clinical practice at this point so that you can have a primary care physician who is more accessible. As such, I will be looking for a physician to assume care as your family doctor, someone who is a good fit to take over my practice.

I want to assure you that my own health is fine, although there have been some complex health problems with my father. This will be a chance for me to have more time to care for myself and my family.

Over the next few months, you may see a new face or two at upcoming appointments as we interview replacement physicians. I will still be working the shifts that have already been booked, so if you have an upcoming appointment booked with me, it will indeed be me who will be seeing you. I expect there will be a smooth transition to a physician who will continue your care seamlessly.

I want to reassure you that Dr. Kevin Leung and Dr. Laura Hendrick, as well as our front desk staff, Vangie and Yonne, will continue as usual at our clinic. Dr. Leung and Dr. Hendrick both have full practices and are unable to take over care of my patients.

Once we have found my replacement physician, I will post an official announcement and introduction on this website and will provide further details at that time.

I hope to see you at an upcoming appointment in the next few months. In addition, I do expect that I will still be around the office at times (as a locum), so I may see you then. In the meantime, I want to tell you how much of a privilege it has been to be of service to you and your families. It has truly been an honour to see my patients grow up and move through life’s stages. Thank you for sharing your confidences with me and trusting me with your concerns. I wish all of you the very best.

Yours sincerely,

Alice C.N. Wong, MD

Dear patients,

It is truly unfortunate that the vaccines have become politicized at this time.

All the doctors, staff and our extended family and children have been fully immunized at this time. We encourage our patients to get the vaccine as the previous hope of achieving herd immunity does not appear to be possible moving forward with the delta variant. (1)

On ther other hand, we respect your rights to choose whether you receive the vaccine.

In that regards, we appreciate that there will be requests for vaccine exemptions. Unfortunately, the doctors at our office are not issuing vaccine exemption letters as there are very few bona fide medical reasons supporting a vaccine exemption. (2)

We ask for all Ontarians to remain calm, respectful and to remain kind to each other (and onself). We were all friends and countrymen before Covid-19; and we will remain the same when this is over.

We apologize for any disappointment or inconvenience and hope that this pandemic will end soon.

References

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00728-2
2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2021/08/19/what-are-the-medical-exemptions-for-not-getting-a-covid-19-vaccine/?sh=7410882744c5
   

As of today, 81% of York region residents 12+ years of age have received the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19 (71% are fully immunized). I am delighted that so many Ontarians are now protected (against hospitalization, ICU admission and death).

However, most of the mass vaccination clinics will be ramping down by the end of August. Future vaccines will be through mobile and pop-up clinics arranged through York region public health.

IF you haven’t received a vaccine yet, I encourage you to at least get the first dose. The delta variant has changed recommendations as it is now considered airborne and is one of the most transmissible viruses ever.

All staff in our office; as well as all eligible family members (our children) have been fully vaccinated.

We all expect that there will be a 4th wave of Covid infections this fall.

We encourage you to protect yourself and your loved ones and get the vaccine today.

You can book or WALK-IN for the vaccine.

https://www.york.ca/wps/portal/yorkhome/health/yr/covid19/covid19vaccinationclinics/04covid19vaccinationclinics

During the COVID-19 Emergency; all ebooking appointments will be for telephone appointments ONLY.  We apologize for the inconvenience.

eBooking

We are also pleased to announce that we are testing a new electronic booking system.
THIS SYSTEM ONLY WORKS FOR EXISTING PATIENTS OF THE PRACTICE.

When using this system

1. You can only have 1 booked appointment at a time.
2. You can only book with your own doctor
3. You will be booking for a TELEPHONE appointment at this time due to COVID-19 emergency.

We expect that there will be problems/downtime during this test phase; but encourage you to take charge of booking your non-urgent appointments with your doctor.  Please let us know if you are encountering difficulties with the system; it is still in development at this time.

EBOOKING SERVICE IS TEMPORARILY DOWN AS OF FEB 26, 2022.   PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR WHEN IT COMES BACK ONLINE (current estimate is 2-4 weeks)

eBooking Server is OFFLINE
However, for booking NON-URGENT appointments or communication
you can text us from your cell phone at (905) 955-9211.
We will try to return text messages within the same day during office hours.

The entry key is “book” when you are prompted after you click below.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER eBOOKING system

IF your doctor and you decide that an in-office visit is necessary; please make note of our current recommendations

PRE-VISIT

1. Older children and adults should Wear a mask or face covering if you have one and can tolerate it (a bandana, scarf, or cloth mask is adequate).
2. Patients over the age of 16 should come into the office alone.  For minors; only 1 parent should accompany them.  We can certainly accommodate additional family members by telephone/video chat if they wish to be part of the visit.
3. Let us know if you have developed a new FEVER or Cold symptoms. Your doctor will initiate a telephone visit first to determine safe visit protocols.

ON-DAY-OF-VISIT

1. Complete the self-screening form  online

   Complete the online screening form on the day of the visit(and email/download/show us the green check mark) or complete the paper copy (available in office). 
   https://covid-19.ontario.ca/screening/customer/

   For your In-person Visit today

   

2. Upon arrival; text (905-955-9211)  or call our office  (905-726-8332) to inform us that you have arrived.  You may also knock on the door if you do not have a cell phone.  We are trying to only bring in one family at a time where possible.
3. When ready, you will be brought directly into an exam room and we will focus on the necessary components of the in-office visit (ie: shots or physical exam).  Your doctor may arrange  or ask you to book a follow-up virtual visit for further discussions or questions.  Since we are wearing masks + faceshields; it can be hard to hold a conversation as our voices are muffled with the protective equipment on.

NOTES

1. For your safety, the staff and physicians will wear masks during your visit.   The masks’ main purpose is to reduce the risk of transmission to others.
2. Please maintain physical distancing with the front staff (ie: take a step back from the plexiglass shields and  do not cross into their personal workspace).  Maintaining a 6 ft distance has a similar effect to wearing a mask and would be protective for both staff and patients.
3. Wherever possible; questions should be handled over telephone / text messaging.

These are unprecedented times and we are all trying to work through them together.

We wish you and your family safety in these times.

I am pleased that the Ministry of Health today announced that elective surgery and some non-medical healthcare professions can resume activity.   It does not mean they will be ready.  It does not mean it will happen soon…

It DOES mean that patients diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of this crisis can start getting surgery and treatment again.  Hospital based CT and MRI machines will start processing non-emergency cases.  And everyone that has been waiting for physiotherapy and their dentist can expect to see them at some point.

We have flattened the curve and our collective sacrifice means that we never ran out of health care resources.   Ventilators, ICU beds and hospital resources remained available for ALL patients unlike the tragedies that occurred in Italy, China and Spain.

HOWEVER, this does not mean that there will be a return to our baseline.  We are all awaiting guidance from our various colleges on safe ways to see patients.

Until we develop a vaccine or find a cure; we will all be living with an elevated risk of mortality that hasn’t been seen since the proliferation of modern antibiotics in the 1940s.

As far as we know…

• between 25-50% of patients show no symptoms and MAY be spreading Covid 19 at any time (that includes the physicians and staff in our office).
• There is a lack of Safety equipment still (masks, gowns, faceshields are unavailable from traditional suppliers).
• All patients will be screened by their doctor to decide if an in-patient encounter is safe and necessary.  Wherever possible; remote / virtual visits will become the norm.
• The COVID lab test fails 15% of the time.

URGENT CLINIC NEWS – April 24

We are committed to the health of our patients during this crisis.  The office remains open during regular office hours but we are making significant modifications to ensure the safety of our patients.

OUR WAITING ROOM IS CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.  

• ALL patients will be screened  / booked for a virtual visit by phone with their doctor at this time.  Your doctor will work with you over the phone and where safe and necessary; will make arrangements for when and how you may come in to see them.
• NO walk-in patients will be accepted during this period of time.

SOCIAL DISTANCING / STATE OF EMERGENCY.

• Since patients and physicians may be contagious with viral shedding 1-2 days before symptom onset; we will be increasing surveillance and distancing measures in the office.
• Stay home, stay safe is the overarching message.  This is NOT the time to come in for symptoms that can wait.
• Public health and The Ontario Medical Association have recommended all non-urgent / elective bookings be rescheduled until this COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted or to be done over the telephone.

WE REMAIN OPEN WITH FULL OFFICE HOURS.

• The office is being staffed as per our normal hours with phones being answered during regular office hours on weekdays.  All physicians remain available for virtual appointments and telephone consultations.  It is at the discretion of each physician whether an in-person encounter should occur.
• PLEASE let us know if you would prefer to defer an in-person encounter; we feel obligated to offer at times; however, please understand that there is always the risk that asymptomatic spread may be occurring.
• The latest thought (April 24) is that we are past the peak number of new covid cases.  It looks like everyone’s sacrifice and hard work have permitted us to avoid the tragic mortality rates that were seen in Italy and New York.

We thank you for your understanding in these anxious and trying times.