SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
If you have been thinking about getting Botox but didn't want to have to fly to Edmonton to get it, soon you will have a local option.

Registered nurse Rebekah Daigle, left, nurse practitioner Andrew Sarty and support worker Chelsey Baron stand inside the new Frontline Medics offices in Yellowknife on 51 Avenue. Located on the second floor, the new space includes Thrive Medical, which offers cosmetic procedures such as Botox and laser skin treatments. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo

A new medical office specializing in cosmetic, travel, health and occupational services is opening in Yellowknife this winter.

Kingston-based Frontline Medics Inc. has taken over the second-floor area formerly occupied by the Aurora Conference Centre at 4909 51 Avenue. Thrive Medical, the arm of the company that will offer the cosmetic procedures, will operate within the new, recently renovated space.

Nurse practitioner Andrew Sarty, registered nurse Rebekah Daigle, and support worker Chelsey Baron are the three new staff hired by company CEO Dr. Ken Jenkins and vice-president of operations Tom Ashman to run the new operation.

Jenkins and Ashman told Yellowknifer this is the first office in the city with this line of services and the project took about a year of planning and development.

"We thought there was a need here," Ashman said.

While the company did not conduct any formal market research, Ashman and Jenkins said their company's work supporting staff at the diamond mines in the territory helped them notice an high income demographic with many dual-earner households.

Sarty, who also has a master's of nursing and holds the title of office manager, currently administers occupational health services and is still seeing patients while renovations are being completed

"Most of those people do work in the mines," he said.

Daigle, who currently works at Stanton Territorial Hospital and is also certified for laser medical aesthetics, will administer skin and anti-aging treatments.

Both Sarty and Daigle said the services they offered are private and do not compete with the public healthcare system funded by the territorial government. While some of what Frontline Medics offers is covered by private insurance plans, currently it is up to the customer to submit claims and request reimbursement. Nothing will be covered by the territorial healthcare budget.

However, Jenkins and Ashman believe that many of Yellowknife's working population are already seeking many of these services in southern cities like Edmonton because they're not offered anywhere else.

"There are very little cosmetic services here," Daigle said.

Daigle is currently an obstetrics nurse. She said the shift to a career in cosmetic procedures occurred after she discovered she is legally allowed to administer Botox and other dermal fillers without the presence of a nurse practitioner or physician.

After Daigle completed training at the National Laser Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona, she decided her ideal job was to work in a plastic surgery clinic, but that didn't exist in Yellowknife.

Now Daigle will be in charge of administering photofacials, microlaser peels, medication-free acne treatments and permanent hair reduction. They will also offer travel medical procedures, such as prescriptions and vaccinations,

"Public Health is the only facility right now where you can get your malaria shots and your Twinrix (Hepatitis A/B), and things like that," Daigle said. "And they'd gladly passed the torch to us."

Prices have not been set, but Ashman said he has heard of clients in Yellowknife already flying down south for similar treatments. Daigle said that public health will continue to offer those services but she anticipated wait-times at Frontline Medics clinic to be much shorter.

After moving from its old location at the physiotherapy clinic Lifecare Planning Health, Frontline Medics has a one year lease on the space on 51 Avenue. Renovations started on Aug. 17.

Jenkins and Ashman said they don't have a specific opening date yet, but were definitely targeting the end of October.

They said the largest challenge was acquiring the specialized equipment from suppliers located in the United States, including delays in shipping and dealing with damaged items.

"The real trick is to get it to Edmonton," Ashman said.

Sarty, Daigle and Baron said the current hope is the clinic will open in November and an open house will take place a few months later.

During that public event, Sarty, Daigle and Baron hope to talk to potential clients, educate the general public, promote a few discounts and packages, as well as show some of the results from the available services.

"These are big changes," Daigle said. "I did the research, I went to school and I was still impressed."

"They're going to be sold."

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