Optimum Wellness Centres: Trans Canada

Dr. Salem Fares was born and raised in Calgary, AB. At a young age, Dr. Fares knew that he wanted to help people through the healthcare profession.

After completing his undergraduate studies in human anatomy and physiology, Dr. Fares travelled to Kansas City, Missouri, where he completed his chiropractic degree.

Dr. Fares diagnoses and treats the body’s underlying conditions by creating a personalized treatment plan according to his patients’ individual needs. Following the initial phase of care, Dr. Fares educates his patients on the importance of preventative and wellness care. Dr. Fares uses a variety of techniques from traditional manual techniques to low force instrument adjustments.

Sarah grew up in Seoul, South Korea. Having had her grandmother and father specialized in Acupuncture and herbs in Korea and Japan, Sarah grew up in a holistically-centred environment, from which she earned her passion towards Eastern medicine.

Sarah has studied Advanced Acupuncture techniques from world-class master acupuncturists in California, U.S.A. She also successfully finished her internship at the Disney Family Cancer Centre in L.A in 2019.

Sarah effectively treats pain, sports injuries, and neuromusculoskeletal disorders. With many years of nursing experience in hospital settings, Sarah also treats a variety of internal diseases and gynecological disorders.

Even when she is busy, Sarah remembers to schedule time for running, hiking, swimming, and yoga, as she is aware of the importance of first having a balanced lifestyle for herself in order to heal others through her treatments.

Merlin Susan Philip is originally from Kerala, the southernmost state of India and came to Canada in 2007 after graduating with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy from K. G. College of Physiotherapy, India.

She is currently a Registered Physiotherapist with Physiotherapy Alberta – College + Association since 2015.

Merlin has vast experience, including working as the PT in Charge at a hospital rehabilitation department for nearly 2 years in India. She treated a variety of cases referred to her. Once coming over to Canada, she has worked initially as a therapy aide and later as a PT intern at an old age home caring for senior patients until fully licensed.

Since being licensed in 2015, she has worked at a couple of clinical settings providing care for clients, which she continues to do so especially in Optimum Wellness Centre (Trans Canada).

Merlin keeps upgrading with various advanced techniques in Physiotherapy and is currently certified with Physiotherapy Alberta for administering Dry Needling and is a Certified Manual Therapist. She has also taken courses as well got certified in Peripheral Manipulative Therapy, Advanced Vestibular Rehabilitation, Graston Technique M1 Training and Running Injuries of The Foot. Currently she is taking various parts in McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) and plans to get certified in 2021-2022.

At the Optimum Wellness Centre (Trans Canada), Merlin will be providing an individualized and personal assessment and providing treatment based on their evaluation and later developing rehab/exercise programs aimed at remedying the client’s issues and helping them back on track to lead a healthy life over the time of treatment. She will also be willing to answer any questions the client has regarding their case or rehabilitation plan.

In her leisure time, Merlin loves to spend her time with family, singing, or in the garden during summer.

Sunaina Menghwani, is an Experienced, Passionate, Thoughtful and Motivating Physiotherapist, who is Your Perfect Pal when you need a little boost to get going. Sunaina has impressive credentials in Orthopedics, Musculoskeletal, Neurological and Sports conditions. She has served all age populations form Young athletes to care of the elderly. Sunaina promotes a Positive Mind-set and a holistic health approach to Wellness.

Originally from India, Sunaina has honed her Bachelors of Physiotherapy along with Masters of Physiotherapy (Orthopedics) from India. She is in Good Standing with the college of Physiotherapy, Ontario. She thrives on breaking through the barriers that are holding people back from achieving their goals and watching them succeed. Central to her approach is integrity. She feels strongly that this should be the foundation of any heath care providers practice. As an experienced therapist, she focuses on Communication and has learned that people take information in differently, ensuring she is able to adapt. Her Passion is infectious, motivating her patients to work hard to get the best results possible.

Sunaina’s favorite part of being a physiotherapist is watching patients who are reluctant or skeptical get great results after she helps them to commit to a well made plan.

Favourite Quote
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” –Albert Einstein

Terry Quach graduated from Mount Royal University in 2017 in the 2200 hour Massage Therapy program.

Terry believes in the therapeutic benefits of massage therapy. His goal is to educate and provide each individual with a treatment plan suited for their specific needs and concerns. He utilizes a mixture of relaxation and therapeutic techniques during his treatments. These include deep tissue, myofascial release techniques, trigger point therapy, hydrotherapy, etc. With plans on taking extra courses to expand his knowledge.

Terry grew up in the NE district of Calgary, enabling him to be immersed in a multicultural community. He enjoys speaking to all of his clients, ensuring that they all feel comfortable at all times.

He is motivated and passionate about helping people to the best of his abilities!

Anthony is a Registered Massage Therapist, who graduated with a 3000 Hour Advanced Clinical Massage Therapy Program, at MaKami College.

Confident in his work as a Massage Therapist, Anthony effectively relieves pain and stress from patients through the use of massage therapy. He is experienced in a wide range of modalities such as Deep Tissue, Swedish, Pre-natal, Hot Stone, and much more. Anthony ensures that a client is always treated with care and comfort. He is exceptional in reading his clients and finding the right approach throughout each of his sessions. Anthony believes that creating a positive environment, and having communication with his clients is essential to Massage Therapy.

Anthony remembers to keep a balanced lifestyle. always acknowledging the importance of keeping up with your own physical, and mental health, but still having a good time and enjoying life.

Michelle graduated with Honours from Alberta College of Massage Therapy 2200 Hour Diploma Program.

Michelle loves how massage help her feel relax and find relief from stress from her previous work that she decided to become a massage therapist herself. She would like to help clients find relief from their pain and try to find its source. She utilizes massage techniques such as trigger point release, pin and stretch, passive & active engagement, myofascial release and educate clients with homecare such as hydrotherapy and stretches to help manage their pain in between massage.

Michelle loves to go for a walk, bike ride and hike whenever possible and do yoga daily.

Michelle plans on taking more massage modalities such as Dynamic cupping, TMJ therapy and is currently taking Manual Osteopathy training program to expand her knowledge and to help client get better as much as she can.

Hey, I’m Junelle. I’m a registered massage therapist and the modalities I can do include deep tissue, cross fibre massage, tissue approximation, hot stones, cupping and myofascial release.

In my free time I enjoy spending time with my daughter because she means the world to me. My hobbies include longboarding in the Summer, journaling everyday, going out to eat with friends and driving with them and our favourite tracks playing.

Stanley has been treating patients in the medical profession for 30 years and started in the custom foot orthotic field 20 years ago. His passion for pedorthics drives his ability to find helpful solutions and to share educational information with his patients. He strives to provide the best possible experience in foot care. His patients regularly comment on his thoroughness and attention to detail in his assessments which include an analysis of posture, biomechanical gait movement patterns and lower extremity musculoskeletal function. Video gait analysis provides the ability to visually show patient exactly when and where their imbalances occur. He encourages his patients to participate in their own recovery by taking the time to educate them about their medical condition, footwear selection, orthotics and home rehabilitation programs.

Stanley graduated with a Diploma in Sports Injury Management (Athletic Therapy) from Sheridan College in 1991 after completing a Bachelor of Physical Education from Brock University. He subsequently became a Certified Athletic Therapist in 1992, a Canadian Red Cross Emergency Medical Responder Instructor in 2000, a Certified Pedorthic Technician in 2002 and a Certified Pedorthist in 2003. Stanley has been a member of the Canadian Athletic Therapist Association since 1990, a Canadian Red Cross Training Partner since 2000 and a member of the College of Pedorthics of Canada / Pedorthic Association of Canada since 2002.

Stanley recharges his energy by engaging in outdoor pursuits, especially on a sunny, warm Alberta day. To keep active, Stanley currently participates in camping, white water river kayaking, alpine skiing, mountain biking, jogging, martial arts as well as weight and cardio training. Stanley also enjoys riding his motorcycle in the mountains during the warmer months of the year.