The Wellness Clinic today announced the appointment of Lashan McKenzie, M.D., pediatrician, specializing in childhood wellness along with diagnosis, treatment and education about childhood conditions, including obesity.
“We are very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. McKenzie to the growing team of wellness professionals and support staff at The Wellness Clinic,” said the clinic’s founder, Dr. Arlington Lightbourne. “Many of the conditions that we treat – hypertension, stress, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer – have their roots in poor diet and lifestyle habits that begin in early childhood. If we can make a difference when children are young or in their pre-teens, we will see a healthier, happier population overall. And we believe that Dr. McKenzie shares our passion about wellness and will be an invaluable addition to our patients at the Wellness Clinic.”
Dr. McKenzie’s path parallels Dr. Lightbourne’s. Both studied medicine at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica where Dr. Lightbourne formed the first emergency medical response team among students to serve a community that often waited hours for an emergency vehicle to arrive, if at all. Dr. McKenzie, who had graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (Honors), was the first student to join that team. She later interned at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), earned an advanced degree in pediatrics and spent seven years at PMH and various government clinics in New Providence where she witnessed and treated what she termed “too many cases of young children experiencing conditions caused by poor diet and too little exercise.”
It was a personal family condition that ignited her interest in medicine.
“From the time that I was a very young girl, I saw firsthand the need for preventative as well as curative health care,” said Dr. McKenzie. “I am honoured to be working with a team of professionals committed to wellness and hope to have an impact on children who are still resilient by nature and can shape or re-shape their futures.”
Dr. McKenzie’s appointment to the clinic located on Collins Avenue just south of Doctors Hospital strengthens a team that includes a nutritionist and lifestyle coach, full administrative, triage and nursing support staff and partners with other doctors in a healthy cleaning company that utilizes nature-based products in services to clinics, embassies, homes and offices.
