The Mose Ambrose Medical Clinic opened in 1974 replacing an older clinic at Belleoram.  Previous to this, a hospital ship, the Lady Anderson, provided medical services for the residents of the Fortune Bay North Shore area.

    The first medical officer at the Mose Ambrose Clinic was Dr. Brooke.  After the gentleman left the area, the clinic was staffed by Dr. Valentine Conway.  During the early years, the clinic was staffed by a single doctor and a receptionist.  During Dr. Conway's tenure, the clinic dispensed drugs and a second employee worked part time as a book keeper taking care of placing orders and dealing with accounts payable and renewable.  This service ended with the provision of drug dispensing services by Sagona Drugs at Hr. Breton.  However, shortly after this occurred, the physician at the clinic was given support as a nursing assistant was hired.  This person was able to perform such routines as checking blood pressures, taking blood samples, doing dressings of wounds, etc.  The nursing assistant also provided escort services on the ambulance which transported patients to the hospital at Hr. Breton and Grand Falls.

    In the late 1980's, the clinic at Mose Ambrose qualified for a second physician.  This was the result of a tremendous lobby effort by the Citizen's Health Group.  This group of volunteers representing different stake holder groups in the region lobbied for improved health services in the area, monitored the services provided by the clinic and operated the ambulance.  Even though two physician units were assigned to the clinic, difficulty with the recruitment often resulted in a one physician operation.

    The large doctor turnover has always been a problem at the clinic and the statistics for the period from 1987 to 1994 shows how pronounced this problem was.  During this period, the clinic was staffed by twenty-four different physicians.  As a result of this problem and the fact that there was frequently only one doctor at Mose Ambrose, a registered nurse was assigned to the clinic in 1996.

    For the past two years, Dr. Mansour has been the physician in charge of the Mose Ambrose Clinic.  This has resulted in an improvement in health care because of the fact that a doctor staying for a long period of time gains a better understanding of his patients and this leads to a better relationship between doctor and patient.  The Department of Health has provided special benefits for one doctor clinics and this has lead to  physicians in one doctor practices signing more long term contracts.  Presently, the clinic is operated for four and one half days per week and the doctor is on call for three nights during that same period.  On weekends, the area is linked by a toll free number to the Hr. Breton Hospital.  When the doctor is out of the area, a nurse practitioner gives support to the RN.

    The Mose Ambrose Clinic responds to the everyday health care needs of the Fortune Bay North Shore area.  When serious medical situations arise, the clinic stabilizes a patient in preparation for ambulance transport to Hr. Breton or Grand Falls.  The clinic has a newly renovated trauma room equipped with a new state of the art trauma bed as well as an EKG machine with a direct link via computer to the Central Newfoundland Hospital.  The clinic is also equipped with a cardiac defibrillator and monitor, a pulse oximeter and an emergency bag containing emergency equipment and drugs.  The clinic receives regular visits from a dietician and holds monthly Women's Wellness Clinics.

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