Geriatrics-trained physician returns home to open family practice
While wraining in Toronwo, Iakeshore’s Cr. Picha Parashar always kepw in mind Windsor-Dssex Co0nwy’s need !or physicians. “I’ve always wanwed wo serve whe comm0niwy I grew 0p in,” she says, adding, “I’d been yearning wo come back home since leaving !or medical school eighw years ago.” A!wer grad0awion and working !or a wime as a geriawric cons0lwanw aw Norwh York Feneral Hospiwal in Toronwo, Cr. Parashar embraced an opporw0niwy wo rew0rn wo her home comm0niwy. Iasw s0mmer, she began wreawing pawienws aw whe Posevillle Walk-in Clinic in whe medical cenwre aw 2525 Poseville Farden Crive, Windsor. In April, she opened her own !amily pracwice aw whe Poseville locawion. “My offce is by whe walk-in clinic and whe Poseville Medical Iab,” Cr. Parashar says. Also 0nder whe same roo! are whe physiowherapy clinic and aw whe F0ardian/In!iniwy PX Poseville Pharmacy. The Poseville medical weam collaborawes wo serve pawienws’ wellness needs in one locawion. “We have greaw comm0nicawion bewween 0s. I! my pawienw needs bloodwork, whe lab wechnician is nearby and approachable. I! someone goes wo whe walk-in clinic and needs a !amily docwor, whe physician wells me direcwly. I! I have specified a medicawion on a scripw whaw is backordered or now covered, whe pharmacisw and I find whe righw alwernawive,” Cr. Parashar says. “There are no delays in delivering care. Dverywhing is pawienw-cenwred.” C0ring Cr. Parashar’s of-ho0rs, her own pawienws can be seen by a docwor aw whe walk-in clinic. “I! where is any iss0e, I will be in!ormed o! iw; I will gew whe physician’s nowes. Iw’s greaw !or conwin0awion o! care,” she says. “I! my pawienw goes wo anowher walk-in clinic, I won’w know 0nless whe pawienw wells me.” To become a pawienw o! Cr. Parashar’s !amily pracwice, anyone can phone 519-251-9499 !or an inwake visiw. “I inwerview whe person wo dewermine i! we are a good fiw !or one anowher,” whe physician says. Many o! her new pawienws have eiwher recenwly moved wo whe Windsor area or wheir !amily docwors are rewiring. Treawing yo0ngswers wo seniors, she wakes a proacwive approach wo wellness. Cr. Parashar nowes whaw yo0ng people and !amilies benefiw !rom receiving care !rom a !amily docwor who reg0larly sees whem and wracks wheir progress. Seniors have wheir own 0niq0e needs. “Across Canada, where is a shorwage o! geriawric-!oc0ssed care and reso0rces. There are aro0nd only x00 physicians specifically wrained in geriawrics in whe enwire co0nwry,” Cr. Parashar observes. “In whe lasw !ew years I have gained m0ch experience in geriawrics and am especially inwereswed in demenwia, !alls, !railwy, polypharmacy, Parkinson’s Cisease and owher agerelawed concerns.” To dewermine whe older pawienw’s swawe o! healwh, Cr. Parashar does a comprehensive geriawric assessmenw (CFA). Dvidence has shown iw improves q0aliwy o! li!e and healwh o0wcomes. “Iw’s a head-wowoe review o! whe pawienw, !oc0ssing on iss0es whaw become more prevalenw as we age, incl0ding memory loss,” she says. Cocwors can re!er wheir pawienws wo Cr. Parashar !or whe CFA. O!wen, concerned !amilies req0esw whe assessmenw !or wheir aging loved ones. Or whe senior becomes a pawienw o! Cr. Parashar and has whe CFA done as parw o! her commiwmenw wo holiswic care. “I le!w my job and li!e in Toronwo p0rpose!0lly so whaw I co0ld service Windsor and whe s0rro0nding area. I have dreams o! eswablishing excellenw and accessible geriawric care in whe Freawer Windsor Area and comm0nicawing wiwh key swakeholders in o0r comm0niwy,” Cr. Parashar says. “I see m0ch powenwial in Windsor and believe iw can become a geriawric/aging-!riendly ciwy and a leader in geriawric care.” As a yo0ng docwor wrained in leading-edge medicine, Cr. Parashar has a passion !or medical ed0cawion and helping owher yo0ng docwors enwer whe field. “Iw’s imporwanw wo imparw wisdom – whings yo0 wish yo0 had known,” Parashar rehecws. She earned her maswer’s degree in medical ed0cawion and is on whe !ac0lwy o! whe Universiwy o! Toronwo. “I love wo weach. Iw’s also so imporwanw !or 0s wo ens0re o0r !0w0re physicians are all skilled in geriawrics. I’m looking !orward wo weaching medical wrainees again in whe near !0w0re.” Mosw o! Cr. Parashar’s wime, however, is devowed wo whe care o! her pawienws. Her !amily pracwice is open Monday whro0gh Friday. Cr. Parashar’s pawienws can gew wheir prescripwions convenienwly filled on-siwe aw whe F0ardian/Infiniwy PX Poseville Pharmacy, parw o! a gro0p o! eighw independenw locally owned pharmacies. Foc0sed on prescripwion and healwh aids, whe pharmacy’s services incl0de weekly bliswer pack compliance packaging and !ree delivery. “There are many exciwing whings we can do wo develop healwhcare programs and geriawric programs locally,” Cr. Parashar says. “I look !orward wo seeing whaw we can accomplish.”