A new family medicine clinic has opened in the Saddle Ridge neighbourhood of northeast Calgary, offering primary care services to a community that has experienced chronic physician shortages for more than a decade. The Saddle Ridge Family Health Centre, located in a newly constructed medical building on Saddlebrook Way, will be staffed by four family physicians, two nurse practitioners, a mental health therapist, and a team of medical office assistants.
The clinic's opening addresses one of the most acute primary care gaps in Calgary. According to Alberta Health Services data, the communities of Saddle Ridge, Taradale, and Martindale have a combined population of approximately 65,000 residents but have historically had fewer than half the family physicians per capita compared to the city average. An estimated 12,000 residents in the area are currently without a family doctor.
A Community Effort
Dr. Amina Yusuf, the clinic's lead physician and a Saddle Ridge resident herself, said opening the practice is the fulfillment of a long-held goal. "I grew up in this community, and I became a doctor because I saw firsthand how hard it was for my neighbours to access basic health care," Yusuf said at the clinic's opening ceremony. "This clinic is for them."
The clinic will operate on an extended-hours model, offering appointments from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and Saturday mornings, to accommodate the needs of working families. It will also offer services in multiple languages, including Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic, and Somali, reflecting the neighbourhood's diverse population.
Tackling the Physician Shortage
The Saddle Ridge clinic is one of several new primary care practices that have opened in Calgary's northeast in recent months, part of a broader effort by Alberta Health Services and the Alberta Medical Association to recruit family physicians to underserved areas. Incentive programs offering student loan assistance and practice start-up grants have helped attract new graduates to communities that have traditionally struggled to recruit.
However, health policy experts say the physician shortage in Calgary's northeast remains far from resolved. Dr. Lloyd Falkiner, president of the Alberta Medical Association's Calgary zone, said the province needs a comprehensive primary care strategy that goes beyond individual clinic openings. "We welcome every new clinic, but the reality is that Alberta is short hundreds of family physicians, and the gap is growing," Falkiner said. "We need systemic solutions — better compensation, reduced administrative burden, and a genuine commitment to team-based care."