Northeast Calgary Women's Clinic fights against cultural barriers

The goal of the Northeast Calgary Women's Clinic is to create a comfortable environment for women to help break down cultural barriers.

Clinic staff hope by having female doctors who speak languages — like Punjabi, Urdu or Hindi — they can increase the rates of women having tests, like pap smears.

Dr. Rupinder Toor-Mangat, who started the clinic, says she was inspired when she learned her own mother had not had a pap smear in 20 years.

"I asked her, you know, 'Why don't you go to the doctor and get it done?' and she said 'Well, he's a male doctor and I'm not going to go and see him for something like a pap test,'" said Toor-Mangat.

She wanted to find out if the rest of her family shared similar concerns.

"When I started talking to my aunts and cousins, same sort of story, none of them were going for very similar reasons and so it sort of planted a seed in my mind that we could, you know, set up a clinic where women would feel comfortable. Perhaps we could have female doctors who spoke a variety of different languages and have it sort of a nice safe place for women to come," said Toor-Mangat.

"I also grew up in the northeast and went to school in this area and so its got a very special sentimental place in my heart and its really important for me to give back to that community that I grew up in."

The clinic just celebrated it's seventh anniversary and has now opened up a second location.

"We've got 14 doctors and we have had the privilege of serving 30,000 women that have come through our door since we've opened."