Welcome! We look forward to getting to know you, working with you and providing you with effective solutions for you and your family’s health concerns.

What To Bring to Your First Appointment

1. Critical: Make sure your intake and consent forms are filled out before you arrive and that you have it with you. For online appointments, please ensure that we have your forms ahead of time so that we can print them before your visit. (We cannot proceed with your appointment without them) Leave yourself approximately 40 minutes to complete them.

2. Bring (or email or fax) any recent lab work; especially if you are here for cancer treatment. Call your doctor and have it faxed to the office.

Clinic Location:

We are located at Bloor and Runnymede, at the South East Corner. 2209 Bloor St. West. Enter through the Healing Source Pharmacy, take the stairs on the left or enter the pharmacy to access the elevator.

At the top of the stairs, or upon exiting the elevator, turn right. You will see a glass door with the clinic name on the front. Enter through this door and sit in OUR waiting room. (There is another waiting room outside of our clinic for the Walk-In Clinic.

Parking

Street parking on Bloor Street is available between 9am-4pm, and 6pm – 9pm. Between the hours of 4pm and 6pm, cars will be ticketed and towed. On the south side of the street however, there is a designated shoulder that is Green P Parking. As well, there is Green P parking at No Frills, just east of us, and north of Bloor off of Runnymede There is also street parking on side streets, but navigate the signage well. You may end up with a short walk.

Public Transportation/TTC

We are at Runnymede Station. Exit via Runnymede St. The walk is 2 mins.

General Approach

Naturopathic Medicine is individualized care that focuses on the physiology of healing, repair and prevention by using treatments that encourage self-healing. Medicines that we use are composed of things that the body uses to grow and repair. Everything that we do will strengthen your health. Nothing we do can harm you.

This process is different than taking a medication to manage your symptoms. Medications are indeed important and we will work with them if they are permanently required, or until you no longer require them. Most times, medications do not heal or repair, but rather override your body’s physiology and allow you to function, in spite of your health issue, e.g., Blood pressure medication, cholesterol medication, pain medication etc. That’s why this approach is so important; we are adding health care and repair to your treatment to stimulate healing of the condition. It’s very exciting!

Know that the body has a speed at which it grows and repairs. Just as it takes time to learn a new sport, increase your strength, or repair a physical injury, it takes time to repair your medical concerns as well. You may feel better in a few days, a month or it may take some months, depending on the depth of the disordered physiology.

Our Goals for Your Health, Our Mission and Values

1. To address your primary concerns and get to the root cause.

This may require:

a) Testing

  • Standard lab testing

  • Functional lab testing, Blood Analysis, Food sensitivity testing, Metabolic testing etc.

b) Lifestyle modification

  • Specific nutrition, exercise, sleep etc.

c) Natural medicines given orally

  • Physiological or Pharmacological doses of vitamins, minerals and nutrients

  • Glandular extracts

  • Botanical medicines

  • Homeopathic

d) Detoxification

e) Physical self-care techniques

f) IV or Injection therapies using vitamins and nutrients, oxygen therapies

g) Emotional work such as counseling, EFT, Mindfulness/MBCT, Meditation

h) Body Work Techniques: acupuncture, Bowen therapy

i) Physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic

j) Dental work

k) Medication, Surgery

l) You may be referred to other health care providers for diagnosis or treatment: such as a medical provider, dental care, chiropractic, physiotherapy, psychotherapy, osteopathy or other. We believe you should have the best care possible.

2. For you to better understand your health, how you got here, how you will get better and how to stay healthy and prevent future degenerative disease. This requires teaching on the basic foundations of health.

3. My larger goal as a doctor is to spur a shift in our healthcare system towards healing the root cause of conditions, to create healthy people and communities, resulting in less drugs, less surgeries, less illness, and better quality of life for people. Combining both conventional medicine and naturopathic care, in my opinion provides the best solution for health care. Our practice is a full family care practice. We hope to be the first resource you come to when you have a health concern.

Health Resources Available to You – The VCIM Community

During our scheduled appointment times, it can be tricky to fit everything that we need to talk about! What is most important is that your health issue and your progress is assessed and monitored. It is also really important that you understand the how and why of your health and our treatment. As my patient, you will have access to various resources that we are developing. We hope to get some webinars in place soon.

1. You will receive a Foundations of Wellness Guide on your second visit.

2. Newsletters: we do not want to spam your mailbox, but we do want to be able to provide you with valuable general knowledge, health tips and course offering and important information about the clinic and your appointments. Newsletters are sent at most monthly, most often quarterly.

3. Facebook: We have a Facebook page where we post tips, current research and support for your progress (anonymously). It’s at facebook.com/doctortammygrime. Please join our page!

4. Our website: www.villageintegrativemedicine.com. We also post important info and updates on the blog site.

Please use these supports! It’s all for you to ensure your success.

How Appointment Scheduling Works

With your First Appointment booking, you have been emailed 3 forms. They are also available on-line or, can be picked up at the clinic. The forms are as follows:

  1. New Patient Intake Form including a Food Log and Informed Consent Form.

  2. This Welcome letter with key information.

  3. Our Fee Schedule.

It is critical that you:

  • Complete the forms before your appointment and bring them with you. We cannot have your intake appointment without the forms. They will take you 40 mins to fill out. Rushing through them will not help me help you.

  • Read all of the information provided to you.

  • Read and sign the informed consent form.

To Begin Naturopathic Treatment, You Will ill Need 2 Appointments:

Appointment 1: History and Assessment (1 hour)

This is an information gathering appointment. During the first visit, your health concerns and intake form will be explored in detail. Dr. Grime’s goal is to gain a full understanding of your concerns, your whole health, lifestyle, stresses and all etiological factors that contribute to your current state of health. If there is time, we will complete a basic physical exam. We may discuss appropriate diagnostic lab tests.

Appointment 2: Assessment and Treatment Plan (1 hour)

Between your first and second appointments, Dr. Grime, ND will assess all information gathered from you, including your intake form, signs and symptoms, lab tests, physical exam. She will spend time teaching you what you need to understand to bring yourself back to health, to prevent future illness and to maintain wellness.

Things that we need to discuss in this time include:

  • Your assessment and diagnosis

  • Basic physiology of your diagnosis (as much or as little as you wish to know)

  • Approach to repair

  • What we need to start with now

  • Nutrition, Supplements, other treatments.

You Will Receive:

  • My Health Foundations and Nutrition Guidebook personalized for you.

  • You will receive our “Where to Get Your Medicine’s Document.

This is a lot of information to get through. It may take us more than one appointment to do so. The start of your treatment plan will either begin at this appointment or, we may need a little more time to get it all in place.

Appointment 3: Follow-ups:

The scheduling of further appointments will depend on the number and severity of your concerns, the depth of pathology and the plan that we have decided for treatment. Generally, we have 30-45 minute follow ups monthly. Each month there is a different piece of repair that needs to be done. We allow the body 4 weeks with each part of the treatment plan to complete a reparative response. We might need 1 more visit to get your plan in place with your complete understanding of what we are doing and why.

Generally, people with chronic illnesses (e.g., hypertension, arthritis, colitis, skin conditions, auto-immunity, digestive issues etc) feel better within a month, however complete healing and repair of tissue takes time. It has taken time to develop a condition and takes time to heal. Allow 3- 6 -12-24 months depending on the condition being treated and your commitment.

We look forward to seeing you!