About

Our Clinic

Welcome to the GI Health Centre (GIHC), Burlington’s first comprehensive gastroenterology (GI) practice and outpatient endoscopy facility. Three passionate and dedicated physicians founded the GI Health Centre in 2012: Drs. Ching, Makhija and Marwaha.

Our physicians have over 3 decades of combined medical training and are always working with the latest innovations in technology and in the specialty of gastrointestinal medicine. Be assured that any digestive health issue you may experience will be managed by our Royal College certified gastroenterologists. The facility is committed to your health and well-being; by using top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art equipment and highly trained physicians and caring support staff we achieve excellence in endoscopic and clinical services.

We believe every patient deserves access to the best quality of care but often specialized care is out of reach for many patients in need. This is due to hospital budget cuts, which results in long waiting lists. Our goal is to significantly decrease wait times and facilitate patient access to GI health care services.

Our Team

Our team of professionals will ensure you receive the best quality of care, with compassion and understanding. We look forward to serving southwestern Ontario for years to come.

 

Dr. Emily Ching, MD, FRCPC, Gastroenterology

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Dr. Emily Ching received her undergraduate degree in Human Biology and Chemistry with high distinction from the University of Toronto. She then pursued medical training at McMaster University before returning to the University of Toronto for her residency in Internal Medicine. She returned to McMaster University for her Gastroenterology fellowship, where she served as a chief gastroenterology resident. While Dr. Ching was a gastroenterology fellow, she was nominated by her program director for an international elective in gastrointestinal motility training with the world renowned experts at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, funded by the American Neurogastroenterology and Motility Society.

Upon completing her gastroenterology training, Dr. Ching has done gastroenterology locum at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital and worked at various outpatient clinics in the Greater Toronto area before she decided to set up her practice at the GI Health Centre in Burlington. Dr. Ching cares about elderly population and she was an active gastroenterology consultant at the Baycrest geriatric centre and hospital to care for the elderly patients for over 2 years.

Dr. Ching is fluent in both Cantonese and English, and she can speak some Mandarin.

When not at work, Dr. Ching enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter. She also enjoys yoga and traveling.

 

Dr. Sapna Makhija, MD, FRCPC, Gastroenterology

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Dr. Sapna Makhija started her undergraduate education at the University of British Columbia, followed by a medical degree from the University of Saskatchewan.

During medical school Dr. Makhija exhibited leadership and academic excellence, including holding a position on the Student Medical Society, receiving a scholarship from the Leukemia Research Fund of Canada, and graduating with distinction in 2002.

Dr. Makhija’s post-graduate education includes completing an Internal Medicine residency and further specialization in Gastroenterology at the University of Calgary. Her leadership and academic pursuits involved serving as chief resident, as well as partaking in a number of research projects.

She has published journal articles in gastroenterology, and has written a textbook chapter. After residency, Dr. Makhija completed a fellowship in Clinical Nutrition and Obesity at the University of Toronto, and has published in the area of nutritional assessment.

Since completing her academic and clinical training, Dr. Makhija has worked throughout the Greater Toronto Area, as well as locum tenans in British Columbia and Ontario. She enjoys diverse patient populations as she speaks English as well as Hindi and Punjabi. She has chosen to make GI Health Centre her primary practice where she can combine her extensive gastroenterological knowledge with her nutrition background.

Dr. Makhija prides herself in maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle of work and pleasure. She enjoys traveling, photography, cultural dancing, and organizing fundraising events.

 

Dr. Avantika Marwaha, MD, FRCPC, Gastroenterology

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Dr. Avantika Marwaha grew up in Montreal during her formative years and learned to speak French at a very early age. She continued her high school and University studies in French. She is therefore fluently bilingual in both of Canada’s national languages. She is also fluent in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.

Dr. Marwaha completed a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Ottawa in 2000. She graduated with high distinction and was a Silver Medallist in the graduating class. She then enrolled in the bilingual medical school at the University of Ottawa and graduated with distinction in 2004.

Dr. Marwaha completed her internal medicine and gastroenterology training at McMaster University. She graduated from the Gastroenterology program in 2010. During her training, she worked on research related to the prevalence and risk factors for dyspepsia with Dr. Paul Moayyedi, an internationally renowned gastroenterologist. She did an oral presentation related to this topic at the Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2009 conference, an important International conference for gastroenterologists.

She also trained under the auspices of Dr. Richard Hunt and Dr. Stephen Collins, two very prominent and award winning gastroenterologists known worldwide for their advancement and research contributions to the field of gastroenterology.

Dr. Marwaha is passionate about working in underserviced areas and with underprivileged communities. She has provided internal medicine and gastroenterology care to many underserviced areas within Canada, including Thunder Bay, Ontario; Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. She also did an educational elective at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a government hospital in New Delhi, India, during her gastroenterology training. These experiences have instilled in her the importance of providing holistic and culturally-sensitive care to patients.

Dr. Marwaha keeps abreast of recent advances in gastroenterology through participation in monthly journal clubs, attendance at International conferences and through personal readings. During her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, cooking and spending time with loved ones.

Dr. Marwaha is very keen to bring her knowledge and skills to the GI Health Centre, providing vital GI-related services to Burlington and to the surrounding communities.

In the News

 

Employment Opportunities

GIHC is accepting resumes for Medical Office Administrative, RPN’s, RN’S and Medical Device Reprocessing Technicians. If any positions become available, candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please fax your resume and cover letter to 905-335-5656, attention Vanesa Seepersaud or email vanesa@gihc.ca

We thank you for your interest in GIHC.