Family Practice Clinics in the Cowichan Valley
Family practice clinics are located throughout the Cowichan Valley, with services available across multiple communities.
Chemainus
Cobble Hill
Mill Bay
Shawnigan Lake
Cowichan Maternity Clinic
The Cowichan Maternity Clinic is an initiative of the Cowichan Valley Division of Family Practice. Its goal is to ensure pregnant people in the area have access to high quality, regular maternity care and that the region has a primary health care system that meets the needs of its residents.
Opened in March 2011, the clinic provides compassionate, team-based care for expectant parents and their growing families. The team of physicians, nurses, registered midwives, and social workers offers comprehensive prenatal, birth, and postpartum support.
Specialist Services
The Cowichan Valley is a full-service medical community, including the following specialty services:
- Addictions Community Medicine
- ENT
- General Surgery Geriatrics
- Infectious Disease
- Internal Medicine
- Maternity Services
- Midwifery
- Neurology
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopedic Surgeons
- Pediatrics
- Psychiatry
- Rapid Response GP Services
- Sports Medicine
- Urology
For a complete listing of specialists serving the Cowichan Valley, visit the Pathways website at www.pathwaysbc.ca.
Urgent Care
The communities of Chemainus and the Ladysmith are home to urgent care centres:
Chemainus Health Care Center
250-737-2040 ext. 42227
9909 Esplanade Street
Ladysmith Community Health Centre
250-739-5777
1111 4th Avenue
Urgent & Primary Care Clinic
Newly opened in October of 2025, the Cowichan UPCC provides access, by appointment, to sameday, urgent, non-emergency health care for patients who require medical attention within 12 to 24 hours. The UPCC is open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, seven days per week.
Cowichan UPCC
1-833-688-8722
940 Government Street, Duncan
Acute Care
Cowichan District Hospital
250-737-2030
3045 Gibbins Road, Duncan, BC
CDH Site Director: David Huntley
David.Huntley@islandhealth.ca
CDH Chief of Staff: Dr. Graham Blackburn
Graham.Blackburn@islandhealth.ca
The Cowichan District Hospital serves the CowichanValley’s acute care needs. The facility houses 148 funded acute care beds, including:
- 7 Intensive Care
- 8 LDRP – Labour Delivery Recovery and Postpartum
- 8 pediatric
- 15 psychiatry
- 25 overflow spaces
Additional rooms, bays, and procedural spaces include:
- 5 operating rooms
- 8 surgical daycare rooms
- 5 post-anesthetic recovery rooms (PARR)
- 3 medical daycare chairs, 6 chemotherapy chairs & 1 stretcher
- 15 emergency bays, including 2 secure rooms.
- University of British Columbia (UBC) academic teaching space & simulation lab
QUICK REFERENCE NUMBERS
EMERGENCY
Nursing Station 44345
Physician Phone 44163/44215
RADIOLOGY
CT/CHH X-Rays 4400-
US/Mammo/LHC X-RAY 45731
2ND FLOOR
Nursing Station 44223
3RD FLOOR
Nursing Station 44233
IMIT Service Desk
250 370-8777
Privileges & Credentialing Contacts
For full privileges: Credentialing_Office@islandhealth.ca
For photo ID and Proxy Cards: seccon@islandhealth.ca
Power Chart access only: MOApowercart@islandhealth.ca
Visit the Island Health Medical Staff Website for more information.
Orientations & onboarding
For hospital tours, contact Dr. Graham Blackburn, Chief of Staff: Graham.Blackburn@Islandhealth.ca
For onboarding support, contact Cynthia Turgeon: Cynthia.Turgeon@islandhealth.ca
Inpatient Care
Inpatient care in Cowichan District Hospital is supported by a hospitalist contract for the care of unassigned/unattached patients. Providers caring for their own (assigned) inpatients, bill through either Fee for Service or the Longitudinal Family Practice payment models, supplemented with added incentives provided by the Family Practice Services Committee.
A focused inpatient care mentorship program is available through the Division of Family Practice to support those taking on hospital work. Learn more on the preceding pages or reach out CVDFP at tlittmann@cvdfp.ca.
Interested in learning more about shift availability and remuneration? Contact CDH Medical Workforce Manager Kerry Howell at Kerry.Howell@islandhealth.ca.
CDH Replacement Project
The new Cowichan District Hospital is due to open for patient care in 2027. With capacity for 204 beds, the new facility will be strengthened by an innovative approach to delivering integrated health services across the Cowichan Region.
Check out the details and take a virtual tour, here.
Community Resources
Be sure to check out Pathways for a list of resources and services available to physicians and patients in the Cowichan Valley.
Cowichan Long Term Care Facilities
There are 7 long-term care facilities located throughout the Cowichan Valley, in four distinct regions – Ladysmith, Chemainus, Duncan and Shawnigan.
The four Duncan LTC facilities have a shared after-hours call group for physicians wishing to sign out after hours. The group also serves as a backup in the event the patient’s MRP cannot be reached within 30 minutes. In the other three communities, call coverage is coordinated by the family practices in the corresponding area.
Chemainus
Chemainus Health Care Centre – Long Term Care
9909 Esplanade Street
250-737-2040
Duncan
Cairnsmore Place
250 Cairnsmore Street
250-746-4432
Cerwydden Care
3243 Cowichan Lake Road
250-746-4432
Sunridge Place
361 Bundock Avenue
250-746-3080
DUNCAN con’t
The Hamlets
5950 York Road
250-597-7995
Shawnigan
Acacia Ty Mawr
2655 Shawnigan Lake Road
250-743-2124
Ladysmith
Oyster Harbour
1127 Fourth Avenue
250-245-3318
Long Term Care Initiative
Developed in 2015, the FPSC’s Long-term Care Initiative provides funding through Divisions to support LTC in their communities. Such funds support after-hours call, including the formalized LTC call group in central Duncan, plus some quality improvement funding, which CVDFP uses in a variety of ways, including sessional payments for attending education events, for time spent learning the LTC-specific EMR, for hosting open houses/networking events at LTC facilities, and more.
To benefit from LTCI incentives, physicians are expected to adhere to a set of best practice expectations, established by FPSC. Review the Best Practice Expectations and System-Level Outcomes of the LTC initiative on the FPSC’s website, here.
For information on the LTC after-hours call program – either to arrange signing out to the call group, or if you’re interested in working shifts – please contact the CVDFP team at tlittmann@cvdfp.ca.