A Year Of Community Healing Barefoot Medicine Celebrate Their First Year

Barefoot Medicine first opened its doors in September 2023 and have since dedicated themselves to community healthcare, celebrating their one-year anniversary this month.
To mark this significant milestone, patients, doctors, and staff came together for a cake-cutting ceremony which Owners Shane Howden, Margaret Kurzok, Tanya De Vries and Director of the board, Alex Kennedy also attended.
The relaxing nature of Barefoot Medicine is what sets it apart from the rest, the waiting room feels more like a living room and conversation hub, where patients can chat whilst waiting for their appointment.
While you can enjoy the tranquil atmosphere of the waiting area, the serene ambiance takes a backseat once you enter the consultation room, where professionalism takes centre stage.
The practice has two resident GPs who concentrate on general health care and two registered nurse practitioners. Barefoot Medicine also has a chiropractor on site 3 ½ days a week.
Shane Howden, one of the three owners of Barefoot Medicine, shared insights into their inaugural year and how exciting the journey has been.
“We've been on a journey, a great journey, with challenges at times and we've still got challenges as far as getting more medical recruitment to the Whitsunday region,” he explained.
While the atmosphere in Barefoot Medicine is unmatched, the regional location makes it a struggle to attract practitioners, highlighting a regional issue.
Howden went on to say “Our fantastic current GP’s and practitioners are a blessing to our business”
The nature of having various practitioners on site is to facilitate their aim to be a ‘one-stop shop’.
“We want to be a one-stop shop, so if you need to see a skin specialist or a chiropractor, we can refer you in house and everything's transparent, so all the data that we have, the practitioners will have access to, so it won't be a repetition of telling each doctor your history,” Shane added.
“In our second year, we'll be making rooms available for specialists, so people don't have to travel to Mackay or Townsville to see someone.”
Barefoot Medicine has been thrilled to see the success in their first year, including the loyal patients who continue to see Dr Andrew and Dr El.
“We knew Andrew was going to be good, and we knew he had a good following, but we're overwhelmed, we just had that many people coming in and so many comments on the street, in the town, as well as people talking about our services” Shane explained.
Happy 1 year Barefoot, and if you are a doctor, practitioner or specialist and fancy getting your toes in The Whitsunday sands, Barefoot Medicine would love to hear from you!

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Director of the board, Alex Kennedy and Owners, Tanya De Vries, Shane Howden and Margaret Kurzok
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One year anniversary cake cutting

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