Grand opening of new Dayspring Medical Centre & Pharmacy location held in Bolton

June 1, 2022 · 0 Comments

By Zachary Roman

Dr. Vincent Utsalo said he was ecstatic at the grand opening of his and his team’s medical clinic and pharmacy in Bolton.

Located in Bolton’s historic downtown at 56 Queen Street North, Dayspring Medical Centre & Pharmacy is a business some Caledon residents may already recognize. That’s because they’ve been in the Bolton community since 2016 at their old location off Highway 50.

It hasn’t been easy, said Joyce Utsalo, the Centre’s administrator, but the business has grown over the years and is now incredibly pleased to have a new location that’s visible, walkable for many, and part of a revitalized Downtown Bolton.

There are three doctors working at the medical centre: Vincent Utsalo, Alexander Ryan, and Shamim Khan. They’re still accepting new patients, and clinic manager Laura Coffa is there to help new patients sign up. The pharmacist working at Dayspring is Maged Mankarious and he also worked at the previous location.

Mankarious said the new downtown location really has a small-town charm to it and that he’s happy to be part of Bolton’s downtown revitalization.

“Thank you all for sharing the moment with us here,” he said at the grand opening. “We’ve been involved here for the last five years or so and you know, we really made a connection with the city and the town… Bolton is growing and we hope to grow with you.”

Dayspring’s grand opening was held on May 30, though it opened its doors at its new location on March 1, Joyce explained.

At the grand opening, Mayor Allan Thompson was in attendance to give a speech, congratulate the business owners, and be a part of a ceremonial ribbon cutting. He was joined by Manager of Caledon’s Mayor & Council office, Sandra Sharpe, as well as members of Caledon’s Economic Development team.

The President of the Caledon Chamber of Commerce, Anthony Caputo, also attended the event to offer congratulations and the support of his organization. Everyone who attended was treated to light refreshments and a tour around the new location.

Dr. Utsalo is originally from Nigeria in West Africa, and has now been living in Canada for 20 years. He was a doctor before he moved to Canada, and in going through the process of becoming a licensed doctor in Ontario, one of the commitments he made was to move to an underserved community. He said he wanted to move to and grow in Bolton because it’s such a great place to work.

“I’ve made a lot of friends here, nice people,” he said.

Joyce agreed and said the Bolton community has been very welcoming. “As a racialized person, especially in Canada where we come from all over, we’ve found everybody just fits in,” said Joyce. She said she loves the new location of Dayspring in Bolton’s Heritage District, and said running a business there makes her feel like she’s contributing to the history of Bolton in a very tangible way.

Thompson thanked the Dayspring team on behalf of the Town of Caledon for choosing to set up and grow in the area.

“We definitely need the docs,” he said. “Back when I started on Council in 2003, what was our biggest issue? Trying to land doctors here, right?”

The Mayor said having a medical centre and pharmacy connected is a great idea, and that it’s the way of the future when it comes to creating communities that are smarter and walkable. He said medical teams are vital to communities and thanked the Dayspring staff for the work they do keeping people healthy.

“I know there’s a huge demand. I know a lot of people travel out of this community for their docs. So, it’s extremely important that you found a home here, and I thank you for that. I really, really appreciate it,” said Thompson.