A long-time local physician, Dr. Luis Pinelo, has retired after more than 25 years of providing care in the Pontiac region. A gastroenterology and endoscopy specialist who also handled a busy family practice, he provided an incredibly diverse range of care and services to the local population.

Originally from Argentina, Pinelo studied medicine in Tucumán and gastroenterology in Buenos Aires. He arrived in Montreal for a fellowship studying gastrointestinal motility (the movement of food through the gastrointestinal system) and he decided to stay in Canada. The shortest way for him to integrate into the health network was to go into family medicine, which eventually led him to the Pontiac region in 1998.

He said that when he arrived the surgeon at the time, Dr. Earle Potvin, was doing some basic endoscopy work. Together with the support of the administration and fundraising from the Pontiac Community Hospital Foundation, they made the hospital a leader in the region for technology and services offered.

Pinelo stepped back from his family practice of around 800 patients in 2019 to focus on his gastroenterology and endoscopy work.  While he worked with the regional health authority on a continuity plan, he said some services will inevitably move to the city. He said that leaving his practice left "a bitter taste" in his mouth, as there is no one with his breadth of experience to step into his shoes.

The full interview with Dr. Pinelo is available below: