COUNCIL AWARD
Champion
of Refugee
Health Receives
Council Award
Dr. Michael Stephenson
D
r. Michael Stephenson, a family physi-
cian from Kitchener, was presented with
the College’s Council Award in recogni-
tion of his commitment to and passion
for serving the needs of refugees in his community.
Dr. Stephenson is the founder, director and chief
physician of the Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre
in Kitchener. Thanks to his dedicated work at the
clinic, Dr. Stephenson has transformed the delivery
of health care to the region’s most vulnerable patients
– people who have arrived here seeking sanctuary from
the turmoil and strife in their home countries. He has
also helped further the community’s understanding of
‘refugee health’ as a field of expertise.
“Refugees arrive on our shores having been subjected
to some of the worst things imaginable,” says Dr. Ste-
phenson. “They may suffer from a myriad of illnesses
– many of which are unfamiliar to Canadian-trained
physicians and some of which have gone untreated for a
long time.”
In addition to physical health issues, refugees often
suffer from deep emotional and mental issues such as
survivors’ guilt, loneliness, anxiety, depression and sleep
difficulties. Add to that the stress of a new cultural
environment and a new language, says Dr. Stephenson,
and it can be a struggle to face up to the tasks of finding
housing, employment, food security, education, and
children’s services.
In 2012, when Dr. Stephenson settled in Kitchener,
the region was receiving more than 300 refugees a year.
However, it was very difficult for them to find appropri-
ate health care due, in part, to the complicated federal
refugee program in place at the time. As a result, hospi-
tals and clinics often turned away refugee patients and
their health care was neglected.
With the creation of the Sanctuary Refugee Health
Centre, Dr. Stephenson sought to fill this unmet need
by providing a culturally sensitive primary health care
centre that focussed on refugees’ unique health and hu-
man challenges.
When he opened his clinic in early 2013, Dr. Ste-
phenson w as the sole staff person, serving six patients
one day a week in a room borrowed from a local
church. Today, the clinic has a roster of more than 2100
patients and is open five days a week. And, in addition
to Dr. Stephenson, the clinic boasts nine staff, including
a full-time nurse and social worker, and a network of
more than 20 volunteers, from administrators, psy-
chiatrists and gynecologists to family physicians, nurse
practitioners, medical students and researchers.
ISSUE 3, 2017 DIALOGUE
17