Roots Community Health Centre

What Roots Community Health Centre does

Roots Community Health Centre (Roots CHC) is a registered non-profit charity and community health centre founded in 2018 in Surrey, British Columbia. It delivers culturally safe, trauma-informed, person-centred primary healthcare to vulnerable newcomers — refugees, immigrants, and temporary foreign workers — addressing complex health and social needs in a city that receives approximately 50% of British Columbia's Government-Assisted Refugees. The organization operates as a single physical clinic at 8630 120 St, Surrey, supported by virtual visits, and uses the Profile EMR by Intrahealth for clinical documentation.

The clinical model is built around an interdisciplinary team of primary care providers (family doctors and nurse practitioners), nurses, a clinical pharmacist, cross-cultural health brokers, medical office assistants, and a social worker/counsellor. Staff collectively deliver care in at least eleven languages including Arabic, Punjabi, Spanish, Dari/Persian, Pashto, Tigrinya, Assyrian, Gujarati, Hindi, Sindhi, and Urdu, and brokers provide cultural interpretation alongside clinical navigation. Services extend beyond medical care to address social determinants of health — settlement, housing, employment, school enrollment, and food security — and Roots CHC is embedded in a referral network with Fraser Health New Canadian Clinic, S.U.C.C.E.S.S., MAP BC, Surrey-North Delta Division of Family Practice, Diverscity, Muslim Food Bank, Options Community Services, VAST, and BC ACHC.

Roots CHC is funded primarily through billing to BC's provincial health plan, supplemented by charitable donations collected through the Zeffy platform and a $5.00 CAD annual community membership program. The organization obtained formal charitable status on June 27, 2023 (Registration #763370889 RR 0001). It is governed by a board chaired by co-founder Dr. Majid Hussain, with Dr. Hala Ahmed as Medical Lead and co-founder, and Patricia Mahecha as Executive Director. The organization is not an investable equity entity; it is a mission-driven community health centre operating at a single site with a small staff and modest revenue.

Name

Roots Community Health Centre

Legal name

Roots Community Health Centre Society

Website

https://rootshealthcare.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Roots Community Health Centre is a non-profit community health centre in Surrey, BC, founded in 2018, delivering culturally safe, multilingual primary healthcare and social support to vulnerable newcomers including refugees, immigrants, and temporary foreign workers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Health Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Social Assistance (624), Emergency and Other Relief Services (62423)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Primary Care for Underserved Populations (e.g., migrant, homeless, refugee clinics) (HLAFAGAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Hospitals, Clinics & Charitable Healthcare Providers (BPAGACAB)

Keywords

• Community health services
• Primary healthcare
• Newcomer health support
• Refugee healthcare
• Cross-cultural health

Headquarters

HQ city

Surrey

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Provincial Health Plan Billing: Healthcare services are primarily funded through billing to BC's provincial health plan (provincial medical services)
2. Charitable Donations: Registered charity accepting donations to provide services beyond what is covered through BC's health system. Donations are collected through Zeffy platform.
3. Membership Fees: $5.00 CAD annual membership fee for community members to participate and support the organization

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Roots Community Health Centre is a registered charity community health centre that provides primary healthcare and social support services to vulnerable newcomers, including refugees, immigrants, and temporary foreign workers. It operates an interdisciplinary clinic delivering family practice medicine, clinical pharmacy, cross-cultural health brokering, social work and counselling, and settlement support to address the social determinants of health.

Product overview

Roots Community Health Centre is a single, unified healthcare facility offering integrated multidisciplinary services for vulnerable newcomers in Surrey, BC. The organization provides Primary Healthcare Services as its core offering, supported by Medical Office Assistant Services, Clinical Pharmacy Services, Cross Cultural Health Broker Services, Social Work and Counselling Services, and Settlement Support Services. All services are delivered through a collaborative, trauma-informed, culturally safe team model aligned with BC's Patient Medical Home (PMH) and Community Health Centre (CHC) frameworks. The centre uses Profile EMR (by Intrahealth) as its internal electronic medical record system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Primary Healthcare Services Family practice primary medical care delivered by physicians and nurses, including preventative care, diagnosis, treatment, and health education, for vulnerable newcomers such as refugees, immigrants, and temporary foreign workers.
• Clinical Pharmacy Services Pharmacist-led medication management, review, and patient counselling integrated into the primary care team to support newcomers managing complex or unfamiliar medication regimens.
• Cross-Cultural Health Broker Services Trained cross-cultural health brokers bridge language and cultural gaps between patients and clinicians, helping newcomers navigate the healthcare system and access culturally safe care.
• Social Work and Counselling Services Counselling and social work support addressing trauma, settlement stress, and the social determinants of health for newcomer patients and families.
• Settlement Support Services Practical settlement assistance connecting newcomers with community resources, housing, employment, and government supports to address non-medical barriers to health.

Quantifiable outcome

• 50% of Government-Assisted Refugees in BC settle in Surrey - Roots CHC serves this underserved population
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Surrey-North Delta Division of Family PracticecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoots CHC works with the Division to engage the Primary Care community and coordinate services. This partnership helps connect Roots with the broader family practice network in Surrey and Delta.
• Diverscity Community Resources SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to provide counselling expertise at Roots CHC. Diverscity provides specialized counselling services integrated into Roots' care model.
• Multi-Agency Partnership of BC (MAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMAP helps communicate and coordinate services available for refugee claimants. Partnership ensures comprehensive support for refugee populations.
• S.U.C.C.E.S.S.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA diverse, inclusive, multi-service agency assisting people at all stages of life in Canada. Coordinates and collaborates on care and health education for newcomers to Surrey.
• Options Community ServicessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on shared goals and services for vulnerable people in the community. Joint service delivery for social support.
• Muslim Food Bank & Community ServicessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with ASPIRE program to provide skilled Social Work services to patients. Addresses food security and community support needs.
• Fraser Health New Canadian CliniccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTogether helping to transition new Canadians into community-based primary care. Referral pathway for newcomers requiring primary care.
• British Columbia Association of Community Health CentressupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBC's Community Health Centre Association provides resource for collaboration and learning. Roots is a member of the Canadian Association of Community Health Centres.
• Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with VAST's refugee mental health experts on team training and counselling referrals. Specialized support for trauma survivors.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bridge Clinic (Vancouver Coastal Health): Refugee health clinic in Vancouver providing initial medical assessment and triage for newly arrived Government-Assisted Refugees, with which Roots CHC partners for transitional referrals. Directly comparable mission and patient population.
• Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services: Toronto-based CHC providing interdisciplinary primary care, settlement, and language-access services to immigrants and refugees. Operates a nearly identical model to Roots CHC at a larger scale and is the closest analog in Canada.
• Flemingdon Health Centre: Toronto CHC serving a high-immigrant population with interdisciplinary primary care, language interpretation, and settlement support. Closely mirrors Roots CHC's model of integrating clinical and social services for newcomers.
• Wellfort Community Health Services: CHC in Peel Region serving newcomers and racialized communities with interdisciplinary primary care and health promotion. Comparable size, target population, and community health centre funding model.
• Crossroads Clinic at Women's College Hospital: Toronto-based refugee health clinic offering specialized primary care to newly arrived refugees, including women and children. Highly comparable service scope and trauma-informed care model.

Broad incumbents

• S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Major multi-service newcomer agency operating across BC and the Prairies with broad settlement, employment, and health programming. A core Roots CHC referral partner and a broader incumbent in the newcomer services ecosystem.
• Fraser Health New Canadian Clinic: Regional health authority clinic providing initial refugee health screening in Surrey. Functions both as Roots CHC's largest referral source and as a publicly funded provider in the same patient segment.

Others

• Canadian Association of Community Health Centres: National membership association for CHCs including Roots CHC. Functions as an ecosystem enabler providing standards, advocacy, and peer learning for organizations operating under the CHC model.

Regional players

• Mosaic Primary Care Network (Calgary): Calgary-based primary care network serving diverse newcomer populations with multilingual team-based care. Operates a similar culturally-safe primary care model in a different province.

Emerging players

• Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture (VAST): BC nonprofit providing counselling and refugee mental health services, with which Roots CHC partners for specialized trauma support. Comparable niche focus on refugee mental health in the same region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rootshealthcare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Roots Community Health Centre