Improving health in your community

Every inch of Lu’ma Medical Centre has been built with intention. From the art on the wall, to the cushions in the healing room, to the sacred medicine in the waiting room offered for smudge ceremonies, the Indigenous primary care clinic is a holistic experience.

This is where Dr. Michael Dumont and his colleagues provide culturally integrated primary health care for their patients. In 2016, he helped establish Lu’ma and now serves as its medical director. He is also a family physician at Musqueam Primary Care Clinic.

“Working in a community with Indigenous families is very personal and gratifying work for me,” he says. “It’s the only focus I’ve ever considered in my medical career.”

Dumont, a graduate of UBC’s medical program, is among the more than 90 Indigenous medical alumni now working in diverse communities throughout B.C. and Canada. The Indigenous MD admissions program is just one of the ways UBC is helping to increase the number, and retention of, Indigenous health professionals — responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

“Now five years into practice, I appreciate the collective strength of the Indigenous medical community,” says Dumont. “My fellow program graduates continue to motivate and inspire me, and will continue to guide my career going forward.”

And he’s not alone. From Quesnel to Kelowna to Victoria, Dumont is one of many UBC graduates setting down roots in the regions across B.C. where they trained, expanding access to care, and becoming mentors to the next generation.

Discover their stories.