Our Team:
Kootenay Medical Centre serves as Primary Medical Home to thousands of Nelson and local area patients!
Here's a glimpse of the cohesive team who look after our patient population:
Dr. Cormac Southam MD CCFP
Bio Coming soon!
Dr. Dharma McBride MD CCFP
Prior to completing his medical training at Queens University in 2009, Dr McBride studied the effects of addiction on the brain during his graduate training in Neuropsychology at McGill University. After training Dr MCBride moved west to live amongst the mountains and completed his Family Medicine residency in 2011 at UBC.
Dr McBride compliments his family practice at KMC with a current term as department head in ER at Kootenay Lake Hospital and we as Board Chair for the Divisions of Family Practice for Kootenay Boundary. Dr McBrides professional interests also involve providing care to those living with HIV as part of the STOP-HIV program and facilitating critical care education throughout the Kootenays.
When not working or traveling, Dr McBride prefers to be skiing, biking and generally loving life in the mountains.
Dr. Kyle Merritt MD CCFP
Dr Kyle Merritt joined Kootenay Medical Centre in 2014. In addition to clinic work, Dr Merritt recently competed a term as department head for the ER Department at Kootenay Lake Hospital.
Dr Merrritt also works with the University of British Columbia (UBC) in resident and medical student education.
Dr Merritt grew up in the Kootenays and is happy to be living and working in Nelson.
Dr. Trisha Goodman MD CCFP
Loved by her patients, Dr Goodman is well known for her caring, knowledgeable and kind attitude. Many patients cite she is the best doctor they have ever had!
Dr Goodman is busy with her career plus a young family, however in her spare time she enjoys the fabulous outdoor activities offered in our region.
Dr. David Sonnichsen MD CCFP
As founder and Medical Director at Kootenay Medical Centre, David is well known for his kind and compassionate nature.
In addition to Oncology work at KLH, Dr. Sonnichsen continues to perform Aviation and Marine Medicals at Kootenay Medical Centre in his role as Medical Examiner for Transport Canada. He also performs Corporate Wellness exams for Nelson Firefighters.
Outside the clinic, Dr Sonnichsen enjoys carpentry, design, building and land development, as well as outdoor activities including hunting, archery, fishing, boating, skiing and water sports.
Dr. Megan Kennedy MD CCFP
Dr Megan Kennedy joined Kootenay Medical Centre in 2016 and is typically found in clinic two days per week. Other days she can be found working in the ER Department at Kootenay Lake Hospital.
Dr Kennedy's love of the outdoors brought her to Nelson and along with her family enjoys the abundance of outdoor activities our area offers!
Dr. Lauren Galbraith MD CCFP
Dr Galbraith joined KMC in 2018 after completing the University of Alberta's rural northern family medicine residency program. She practices general family medicine in both Nelson and Salmo and appreciates the longitudinal care that this career allows for. She also has a special interest in gender affirming care, contraception and sexual health, which led her to complete extra clinical training in these areas at UBC in 2019.
Dr Galbraith was born and raised in Nelson and is happy to be back home practicing, where she can easily get into the mountains and on the water on her days off with her dog and family
Dr. Kelly Mieske MD CCFP
Dr Mieske has been on Medical leave since July 2022 and subsequently has closed her practice.
Patients of Dr Mieske , please click here for additional information
Primary Care Network Staff
Kootenay Medical Centre is pleased to be a member of the Kootenay Boundary Primary Care Network (PCN) in partnership with the KB Divisions of Family Practice and Interior Health. Patients of Kootenay Medical Centre may have access to the following services offered by Interior Health:
Laura Buchanan MSW RSW Primary Care Social Worker
As a registered social worker with the BC College of Social Workers (BCCSW) with undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work, I have worked in the field of non-profits, specifically with people experiencing substance use, chronic illness and pain.
My counselling experience lies in communication, power and relationships, anxiety, depression, anger and grief; my therapeutic approach is grounded in social justice, decolonization, and allyship which shapes how I provide anti-oppressive, trauma-informed and gender affirming care. I practice from a strengths-based approach and utilize the principles of healing centered harm reduction.
Christine Dancer RN
Kootenay Medical is pleased to announce Christine joined Kootenay Medical Centre in February 2023 and brings with her a breadth of experience in all aspects of Primary Care Nursing. Christine specializes in Chronic Disease Management and wound care and also performs wart treatments, injections and ear flushing! Welcome Christine!
Selda Canoglu
Primary Care
Physiotherapist
Selda has been working as a Physiotherapist since graduating from McGill University in 2005, and has gained a wide range of professional experiences since then.
She joined Kootenay Medical Centre as a primary care Physiotherapist in 2021, where she enjoys the unique opportunity of working as part of a primary care medical clinic. In her work with our team, Selda strives to focus on her patients’ priorities, listening to what is most important to them. Her assessments address a variety of issues including aches and pains, physical injuries, dizziness/vertigo, and concussion.
Originally from Ontario, Selda was drawn to the Kootenays by the natural landscapes and different pace of life.
Medical Office Assistants (MOA’s)
Kootenay Medical Centre Physicians and Health Care workers rely on our Admin Team to keep everything running smoothly… Meet our Admin staff:
Cheri McEwen MOA
Cheri has had an extensive medical administration career, first working at Medical Services Plan (MSP), then working in Family practice clinics in Alberta and then finally moving to Nelson. Cheri enjoys her busy role as a Medical Office Assistant (MOA) and can usually be found at our front reception desk, handling the constant bustle of answering phones and questions along with directing clinic traffic for our thousands of clinic patients.
In her spare time Cheri, along with her partner, enjoys gardening, fishing, water activities, hiking and her dog!
Debbie Sonnichsen MBA
Debbie's role as Clinic Manager entails overseeing and managing all aspects of daily clinic functioning including: management, accounting, Data, IT, human resources and scheduling. On occasion you might even see her covering one of the desks of our busy Medical Office Assistants (MOA's)!
In her spare time, Debbie enjoys family life as Mom to 3 busy teenage girls and also enjoys downhill skiing, water skiing, boating, gardening, cooking, fitness and travelling!
Paige Carson MOA
Paige supports our Health Care Team in an Administrative Role as one of our very busy Medical Office Assistants (MOAs). Through constant multi-tasking, Paige works in conjunction with other admin staff and our Health Care Team to keep things running smoothly at Kootenay Medical. Paige is most often found triaging patients and supporting our physicians along with their patients as much as possible.
Outside work, Paige enjoys family, friends, socializing and travelling!