Our Story
The Centre for Health Innovation
The Centre for Health Innovation (CHI), the new home for the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC), provides excellence in health care for our community.
Today, our services include both Supportive Cancer Care and General Health Care with an exceptional multidisciplinary team of practitioners.
For almost 10 years, the OICC focused on changing how people are living with cancer, as a regional centre of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. The OICC was the first integrative cancer care and research centre in Central and Eastern Canada, and was awarded the two largest-ever integrative cancer care research grants in North America.
In October 2020, under a new name of the CHI, the OICC transitioned to become a new clinic, independent from CCNM, with an expanded vision to provide care for chronic health conditions well suited for integrative medicine.
Read about the transition to expanded care and the opening of our new facility on February 17, 2021.
The CHI is the vision of Dr. Dugald Seely, ND, MSc., who previously co-founded the OICC with his partner Sarah Young in 2011.
Through program management, care coordination, stakeholder outreach, events and fundraising, Sarah helped to lead the OICC into a profitable and large sized clinic that provided integrative cancer care to hundreds of patients each year in the Ottawa region.
Sarah also helped her partner of over 20 years launch the CHI in 2020, expanding into caring for those with any form of chronic disease.
While the CHI clinic now operates separately from CCNM, the collaborative research between these institutions continues to help shape the future of naturopathic and integrative medicine in Canada.
In addition to being the Founder and CEO of the CHI, Dugald Seely leads the Patterson Institute for Integrative Oncology Research at CCNM. Dr. Seely is currently an Adjunct Professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, is an Affiliate Investigator with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), and was Past President for the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians (OncANP).
In 2017, Dr. Seely, ND was the recipient of the Dr. Rogers Prize for excellence in Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Clinical Care
Our team of health-care practitioners have training in naturopathic medicine, integrative medical care, acupuncture and TCM, craniosacral therapy, nutrition, IV therapy, physiotherapy, massage therapy, lymphedema and lymphatic drainage, reflexology, exercise therapy and yoga, psychotherapy and hypnosis.
Research
Our team is committed to building the evidence base in the emerging field of integrative oncology through high-impact research. Forging new frontiers, the CHI is developing a collaborative network to advance research and treatment efforts. The Centre aims to be a hub for innovative, ethical research into complementary approaches.
Education
We are driven to educate and empower people on how best to take control of their own health. Patients are encouraged to take an active role in their healing process through the adoption of self-care practices that support their body, mind and spirit.