RENFREW — Renfrew Victoria Hospital and the Renfrew and Area Health Services Village welcome two new physicians to the community.
Drs. Tara Avelino and Anthony De Jesus are both family practitioners and will be the first to open practices in the new Professional Building that is currently under construction on the RVH campus.
They will work temporarily out of 510 Raglan Street until the new building is completed, which is expected to open this August.
For Dr. De Jesus, opening a practice in Renfrew is a bit of a homecoming—he was born in Kingston but grew up in the Ottawa area. The couple met as classmates at the University of the Philippines in Manila where they were studying medicine together. Dr. Avelino was born and raised in the Philippines and both moved to Canada to complete their Family Medicine residency training through the University of Ottawa.
“On behalf of the Renfrew Victoria Hospital, I am thrilled to welcome Tara and Anthony to our community and the professional team at RVH,” said Randy Penney, RVH President and CEO. “The addition of two new physicians is excellent news for Renfrew and area patients.
“They have a very young family and are already settled into a new home, showing that they are committed and eager to grow roots here,” he added. “Their qualifications, breadth of experience and rapport with patients is outstanding. We are very happy to support them both as they begin their careers and lives here.”
The couple chose Renfrew immediately after their first site tour, says Dr. De Jesus. “Tara and I knew right away this was it! But we did our due diligence and visited other practices so we could make an informed decision.
“We were blown away with the solidarity of the community and could tell it was a very supportive work environment with good relationships between physicians, allied health professionals and administrative staff.”
He continued, “The opportunities available to us were great with a new clinic in the works and a wide breadth of medicine to get involved in; this is the definition of community medicine and exactly what we were looking for.”
The doctors have been working with patients in the community since last year. Dr. De Jesus was able to transfer to Renfrew early to complete his Family Medicine training under the guidance of Dr. Steve Radke, while Dr. Avelino was able to start her practice.
“We love it here and we’re very excited and honoured to be part of this community,” says Dr. Avelino.
Their daughter Bianca is a student at Our Lady of Fatima and their son Bryce just turned one.
“Thank you to everyone for being so warm and welcoming,” Dr. Avelino said.
Patients in need of a family doctor must be registered with Heath Care Connect. The phone number is 1-800-445-1822. You can also register on the Ontario Ministry of Health website at http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ms/healthcareconnect/public or contact Renfrew and Area Health Services Village at 613-432-3328.
