Simmonds McMurrer
Integrating naturopathic medicine into “the island way of life”
Simmonds McMurrer Naturopathic Medicine is a naturopathic clinic located in a beautifully restored heritage building in historic downtown Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Dr. Kali Simmonds always envisioned starting and raising a family back home in PEI. However, she was concerned with a general lack of knowledge surrounding the profession. In June 1999 when The Root Cellar, a grassroots health food store founded in 1972, was put on the market, Dr. Simmonds decided to gauge this small province’s interest in naturopathic medicine. She advertised in a small local newspaper that she would be conducting patient visits while vacationing for 10 days in July. Conducting 44 initial 1.5 hour visits during this 10-day period, she was shocked by the response!
Reassured by this immense interest, Kali and her husband were highly motivated and bought The Root Cellar and the threestorey heritage building in which it was housed in November 1999. Initially, Dr. Simmonds concentrated a lot of her time in the store to help educate the public about naturopathic medicine. While awareness about the value of naturopathic medicine has grown tremendously, she notes that education must be ongoing given the tendency to lump alternative health care practitioners under the category of “naturopathic doctor” or “naturopath” despite the significant educational disparities among this wide and diverse group of practitioners.
The Root Cellar occupied the 1,600 square foot ground floor of the building and apartments occupied the second and third floors. In February 2000, the 1,000 square foot apartment on the second floor was renovated into four offices and a sauna in which Dr. Simmonds, a psychologist, a counsellor, and a massage therapist practiced. By the Fall of 2006, Dr. Simmonds had roughly 1,500 patient files and having recently had her fourth child out of an eventual six children, the need for another naturopathic doctor in the clinic was obvious. Consequently, Dr. Lana McMurrer joined the practice.
The partnership between Dr. Simmonds and Dr. McMurrer led to an exciting opportunity with Easlink TV. The two naturopathic doctors launched a regional weekly community television show called “Au Natural”. As co-hosts, they discuss a large range of health topics and feature a variety of different guests, including medical specialists, family physicians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists, etc. The practitioners make themselves relatable during this program and aim to make naturopathic medicine part of the everyday. Now entering their fifth season and having recorded over 100 shows, “Au Natural” has been very well received. Although no payment is received for hosting the show, the practitioners acknowledge that the show has been a big part of the clinic’s success and has been excellent for mainstreaming naturopathic medicine.
Dr. Simmonds’ sister, Dr. Nara Simmonds, joined Simmonds McMurrer in the Fall of 2010, at which point the clinic changed from a multi-disciplinary clinic into primarily a naturopathic clinic. Currently, the clinic is comprised of the three naturopathic doctors, a massage therapist, and an office manager.
Even with Dr. Kali Simmonds and Dr. McMurrer practicing part-time, the clinic has over 3,000 patient files. Half of the clinic visits are new patient visits, which mean fewer visits per patient than what might be common in naturopathic practice but this highlights the tremendous growth the clinic continues to observe.
The television show, a newspaper column, and many public and private seminars act as the clinic’s main sources of advertising. The success of Simmonds McMurrer is due to its strong presence in the community. In addition, the three naturopathic doctors have very close personal and professional relationships, which has resulted in similar practice styles. This has allowed for strong continuity of care for patients during numerous maternity leaves; while Dr. Kali Simmonds has completed her family, Dr. Lana McMurrer and Dr. Nara Simmonds have just begun with Dr. McMurrer having one child and Dr. Nara Simmonds expecting her first.
The practitioners generally take an orthomolecular approach to medicine and concentrate on nutrition, botanical medicine, and counseling. They are constantly challenged with meeting patient needs while remaining cognizant of financial constraints given relatively low average incomes in PEI. Therefore, high quality retail brands, such as Trophic and Natural Factors are often recommended. Several professional lines are also available to patients over-the-counter in The Root Cellar, including Douglas Labs, Mediherb, WTSmed Formulations, Thorne, and custom formulations from Signature Supplements. The clinic also utilizes a number of laboratory analyses, including saliva hormones, 24-hour urine testing, IgG and IgE allergy testing, hair analysis, and Candida antibodies through Rocky Mountain Analytical in Alberta. In addition, the clinic utilizes Genova Diagnostics for stool yeast and parasite culturing and FFP Laboratories for halogen and heavy metal urine testing.
Roughly twelve medical doctors regularly refer patients to Simmonds McMurrer; this is significant in a province of only 130, 000 people. The naturopathic doctors work with patients daily to coordinate thyroid and bioidentical sex hormone treatment through their family physicians. In fact, Dr. Kali Simmonds has actually attended medical visits with patients! Medical doctors are generally receptive to blood testing requests when patients present professionally justified test requests from the naturopathic practitioners, which is important since there are no private laboratories on the Island.
Educating the public is an ongoing issue because naturopathic medicine is not a regulated profession in PEI but the six residing naturopathic doctors are hopeful that legislation could come as soon as Spring 2013. According to the CAND, the PEI Association of Naturopathic Doctors is the only association ever invited to speak to the Board of Directors of the College of Family Physicians and Surgeons of PEI or to be granted written support from the board of the PEI medical society to the ministry of health for the need for legislation for naturopathic medicine in this province.
IHP would like to thank the practitioners of Simmonds McMurrer for taking time out of their hectic schedules to allow us a glimpse into this highly successful naturopathic practice. We are extremely impressed with how they have integrated the clinic into the community. We wish them all the best!
