Canada Diagnostic Centres (CDC), an Alberta-based medical imaging provider with locations in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, offers a comprehensive range of screening, diagnostic and interventional services. The company has grown steadily since its founding in 1993 and now serves more than 800,000 patients per year across Canada.

Darcy Verhun, CEO, describes CDC’s mission and focus: “The words ‘clarity through caring’ speak to both what we do and how we do it. When people come to us for diagnostic imaging services, we give them valuable clarity about things going on inside their body that are otherwise impossible to see. Here at CDC, we have wonderful staff and they provide that clarity with compassionate care. We treat our patients and each other in a way that is remarkable because of the personal connection we make with people.”

Verhun is new to CDC, having joined just over a year ago. What he is no stranger to, however, is making a positive difference in people’s lives and driving innovations in healthcare forward.

“What drew me in was the opportunity to make a significant positive impact on the lives of so many Canadians in their healthcare journey. Diagnostic imaging is a critical component of healthcare. CDC, as the largest private Canadian diagnostic imaging company, is uniquely positioned to help solve the access to care challenges that Canadians face today,” Verhun explains. “Additionally, I saw potential to lever learnings from my prior experience to scale CDC’s patient care capability in the highly fragmented diagnostic imaging space in Canada. Prior to CDC, I was the president of a health care company intent on leading the evolution of eye care, where I led the company over a ~10-year period from effectively a start up to a ‘unicorn’ (i.e. $1 billion+ in market cap is considered a unicorn).”

With a long career in healthcare, Verhun has a clear view of some of the challenges impacting Albertans.

“Healthcare wait times remain elevated – which impacts the quality of health outcomes for Canadians. Access to care is becoming more and more critical for patients,” Verhun describes some of the most pressing issues. “Access to timely diagnostic imaging is key in many conditions where every day of treatment matters. People travel to different provinces or even outside of Canada to access care they are not able to receive at home due to long wait times locally.”

He continues, “Cost inflation and labour shortages add to these challenges. Healthcare workers are still recovering from the significant strain of the pandemic. We are not adding sufficient new talent to our system because our post-secondary institutions do not have the capacity required with our current paradigms. This talent supply shortage coupled with inflation leads to further labour cost escalation – which creates a significant constraint to providing care. It is expected that things will only worsen as our population continues to grow and age.”

Verhun and his team are focused on solutions. With a progressive, active plan, they have three priorities to help restore healthcare to Canadians.

“We are implementing a plan focused on three priorities around our CDC brand – C ‘Culture’ / D ‘Deliver Care’ / C ‘Cost Excellence.’ Initiatives include continued innovation through technology (e.g. AI) and other workflow processes to increase patient flow, ongoing investment in our human health resources and diagnostic imaging equipment and further expansion through acquisitions and greenfield clinic locations.

“While I do not think the future for healthcare in Canada is going to be an easy one, I believe that CDC is well positioned to be part of the solution. We have shown that it is possible to make care more accessible in both rural and urban areas through our scale, reach and the diverse scope of imaging services and care we provide.”

ATB is helping CDC reach these goals – and helping CDC expand its reach across Canada.

“ATB has been our banking and financial service provider since the very start. Without access to the capital they provided, we would not have been able to invest in the high-tech and hugely expensive diagnostic imaging equipment we require. They also provided financial support required for our growth in both greenfield locations and acquisitions. All of which has resulted in our team being able to provide healthcare to more than 800,000 people in 2024.”

He describes the ATB difference, noting, “ATB is present, and they understand what it means to be an Alberta based business growing across Canada. They are not just about the numbers – they are partners who are there to provide support and guidance, even in challenging times like we saw during and following the pandemic. Their team just feels like a natural extension of ours because of their unpretentious approach and commitment to our team and aspirations.”

In addition to ATB, CDC is very grateful to everyone that helps empower its mission. Verhun thanks, “Our front-line technologists and radiologists and our care teams in each clinic. Lorne Paperny for his entrepreneurial vision and foresight to create CDC and then his leadership throughout the years. Dr. Rob Davies as medical director and CEO for most of CDC’s existence. His leadership is helping to set our benchmark standards for quality of care. Marc Paiement and the entire Novacap private equity team for their investment in CDC and for the specialized skill and business acumen they have brought to bear to fuel CDC’s growth and Dr. Casey Young for creating our rural footprint as an entrepreneur and then choosing CDC as his preferred go-forward partner.”

Verhun concludes, “We aspire to be a key part of the solution to the Canadian access to healthcare crisis by further growing our footprint across the entire country. Our goal is to provide timely diagnostic imaging services for over 2 million Canadians every year.”

Learn more about CDC at www.CanadaDiagnostics.ca.

From the February 2025 edition of Business in Calgary, and Business in Edmonton. Shared with permission.