IMPORTANT: If you currently do not have a family doctor, please call 811 or visit needafamilypractice.nshealth.ca to be added to the Registry. The Clare Health Centre expansion project will enable all residents of the Municipality of Clare to have a family doctor. If you don't add your name to the Registry, you risk losing your spot to someone living outside the Municipality when the service boundaries are expanded in the future. If you're not sure whether your name is on the Registry, or if your contact details have changed, please call 811.
The Clare Health Centre (CHC) would like to remind the public that abuse of its staff is not tolerated. Abuse of our staff and healthcare providers may result in the loss of your healthcare provider and being dismissed from the CHC clinic. For more information, please 
click here.
About the Clare Health Centre
The Clare Health Centre (CHC) was built in 2008 and is owned and operated by the Municipality of Clare. The building is currently under expansion. Once complete, the expansion will add over 8,000 square feet which will be home to five additional doctor's offices (with two exam rooms per office), a classroom for medical residents and a second procedures room (to complement the one in the existing building). For more information on the Clare Health Centre expansion, click here.
The following care services are provided at the Clare Health Centre:
- On-call physician services (further detailed below)
- IUD consultation and insertion/removal
- Nexplanon implants
- Endometrial biopsies
- MAID
- Medical abortions
- Gender affirming care
- Driver medicals
- Seafarer medical exams
- Minor surgeries/lump and bump removal
- Cryotherapy
- ECG
- Immunization clinics
- Well woman / PAP clinic
- Family Practice Nurse services such as diabetic counselling, insulin monitoring, immunizations, wound care, liquid nitrogen treatments, etc.
The CHC is also home to several satellite clinics and other services including public health, mental health and addictions, continuing care, lab collection services, the Digby Diabetes Centre, an outpatient nutritionist, a wellness coordinator, a cardiovascular clinic and an Amplifon hearing clinic.
General Information
The Clare Health Centre is open from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
The phone number at the Clare Health Centre is 902-645-2777. Phone lines open at 8:00 a.m. Monday - Friday and at 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays. Phone lines at the Clare Health Centre close at 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday, and at 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
The Clare Health Centre is closed on the following holidays:
- New Year's Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Labour Day
- Christmas
- Boxing Day
On all other holidays not listed above, the Clare Health Centre is open for reduced hours from 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Holiday hours and closures at the Clare Health Centre are always posted to the Municipality of Clare's Facebook page.
Please ensure you bring your Nova Scotia Health Card with you to each appointment and/or service. If you do not have a valid Nova Scotia Health Card, you need to contact MSI Registration at 1-800-563-8880. For more information, click here.
If you do not have a valid Nova Scotia Health Card, there will be fees of $75 - $200 associated to your visit based on the services provided.
On-call Services
On-call services are available to patients of the Clare Health Centre and residents of the Municipality of Clare. Appointments with the on-call doctor may be booked by phone ONLY. Appointments can be made by calling 902-645-2777. No appointments with the on-call doctor will be offered to patients booking in-person.
Please remember that this service is in high demand and should be used for urgent issues. Visits with the on-call doctor are limited to one reason to maximize the amount of clients that can be seen during the day. Any aggression or abuse directed towards our staff and providers will not be tolerated.
Please see your family doctor for prescription renewals and for chronic or non-urgent conditions.
When all availabilities for the day have been filled, no additional patient will be seen by the on-call doctor.
Your options will then be as follows:
- Call 811 for medical advice.
- Call 911 – for emergencies
- Proceed to the nearest emergency room – if serious condition or must be seen same day (click here for approximate wait times).
Doctors' Offices
The upper level of the Clare Health Centre currently has ten family physicians, a nurse practitioner, a family practice nurse as well as support staff. They work in a collaborative setting in order to provide their patients with quality primary care services. The physicians at our facility offer on-call services for patients with more urgent needs that cannot wait for the next available appointment or for those with no family doctor.
Currently, none of the physicians are taking new patients. For individuals and families in our community who do not have a regular family physician or nurse practitioner, please register online or call 811, Monday to Friday, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The practice consists of:
- Michelle Dow, GP and Medical Director
- Giselle Dugas, GP
- Alain Blinn, GP
- Jean-Luc Dugas, GP
- Erica Lasher Coates, GP
- Devon Long, GP
- Emma LeBlanc, GP
- Emma Leon, GP
- Kristen Melanson, GP
- Joel Arsenault, GP
- Dylan Engell, GP
- Amanda Glenn, GP
- Crystal Thibodeau, Nurse Practitioner
- Steven Baggs, Family Practice Nurse
Satellite Clinics at the Clare Health Centre
- Digby Diabetes Centre: every second Friday - for more information, call 1-844-342-7984 or click here
- Outpatient nutrition: once monthly - for more information, call 902-245-2502 ext. 3341
- Cardiovascular clinic: once monthly - for more information, call 902-742-3542 ext. 1460
- Amplifon hearing clinic: once monthly, call 1-800-565-7774 (toll free) or 902-742-7774 (Yarmouth location that offers the satellite clinic at the CHC)
- Wellness Coordinator (Kinesiologist): every Wednesday, call 902-526-3572
Public Health Services
Public Health promotes and protects the health of all communities in Nova Scotia. They do this by providing services and resources that promote health and allow people to be part of creating healthy communities.
Services:
- Early Years Team: supporting families who are expecting, or who have infants or young children through pregnancy or parenting support.
- Health Protection: providing immunization services and support and preventing the spread of infectious diseases in Nova Scotia.
- Healthy Communities: promoting health and identifying needs and opportunities within communities to support health and wellness.
To contact public health services at the Clare Health Centre, call 902-742-7141. For more information and resources, you can visit the Nova Scotia Health - Public Health Services website.
Laboratory Services
Laboratory services are offered 2 to 3 days per week at the Clare Health Centre, by appointment only. A requisition form (referral from your doctor) is required to book an appointment. Patients can book an appointment online or by calling toll-free 1-833-998-2722 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday (excluding holidays) and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Patients need to bring their Nova Scotia Health Card with them.
Clare Health Centre Foundation
The Clare Health Centre Foundation strives to raise funds for the Clare Health Centre for the purchase of up-to-date medical equipment. It is committed to the maintenance and enhancement of services at the Clare Health Centre through the administration of funds received through various activities, functions, and gratuitous gifts.
The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors made up of community volunteers who administer the funds received to purchase equipment for which government funds are not available.