Building Madrona Integrative Health relied on building relationships; not surprisingly, the relationship and loan support from Salt Spring Loans was featured front and centre in the story of the birth of the Madrona clinic.
The story began when roughly five years into her naturopathic private practice, Dr. Hannah Webb began expressing her vision of an integrated health clinic on Salt Spring Island – a vision that was mirrored by her then-employee Natalie. The opportunity to realize her vision came alive as she began partnering with Natalie who had strengths in marketing and operations.
“It was the pandemic and we were working from home, yet we were moving many aspects forward, and taking steps together. What came next was the need for the right space, centrally located, and the funds to turn that into a clinic,” enthused Webb.
Dr. Webb’s plan to build an integrated health clinic included enough space for multiple practitioners with specific needs, as well as enough staff paid a living wage to support the project. She was going to need to borrow funds to get it off the ground, especially the physical infrastructure.
She explored loans with traditional lenders on the island and also with Salt Spring Loans (at the time, she worked with co-op directors, Elizabeth White and Donald McLennan).
“When I received an offer of a loan from the bank, Salt Spring Loans was able to offer a lower interest rate, and it was easy to say yes to that option!” Webb exclaimed.
Finding the building was one of those Salt Spring moments – she checked her email late at night which she never does, and the building rental for two levels of commercial lease at 105 Rainbow Road had just been listed. She inquired right away and thanks to the customization and personal attention Salt Spring Loans gave to her case, the loan and the building lease moved forward swiftly.
“From the get go, Salt Spring Loans received my spreadsheets with anticipated costs in round numbers even before the clinic space was found, and they helped me navigate all the learning and make the numbers work. They were with me every step of the way,” she explained.
Also with her along the way were many supportive friends, partners, and many other helpers in to help her build furniture, decorate and design the space, and more. The building improvement clinic-making project turned into a community affair, attracted a blend of practitioners who share the vision, and the ultimate clinic continues to have a community feel.
Webb found that the personal relationship with Salt Spring Loans felt wholly supportive of the entire project and had aspects that one wouldn’t expect to encounter at a traditional bank with a borrower-lender relationship. She described how Salt Spring Loans directors were interested in community good they could see in her project, and in the project itself. She appreciates the ethos upheld in the Salt Spring Loans mission, that the collective of lenders at Salt Spring Loans includes many who re-invest earnings on the small community loans back into the next crop of community loans and that Salt Spring Loans exists in the first place to make community businesses and climate action projects come to life on Salt Spring Island.
Webb concluded “When I hear of someone starting a business, I always recommend that they contact Salt Spring Loans about borrowing. My own experience was excellent, and I felt so supported. I get a warm and fuzzy feeling every time I think of the entire process of borrowing from Salt Spring Loans to realize my business dream and to find a fit in my project.”
Created June 2025 by Shannon Cowan, Salt Spring Loans Director from an Interview with Dr. Hannah Webb, ND