A Victoria-based facilitation service helping Vancouver Island residents and clients across Canada access affordable surgery abroad — founded by Patrick Fillion to solve a real problem: a healthcare system that makes people wait in pain, with no trusted local guide to help them find another way.
Founding Director
GHA Advanced Certified Medical Travel Professional · MTA Silver Member · Victoria, BC
I hold a degree in Transportation Logistics and Business — the academic foundation for how I think about getting people, paperwork, and timing to line up under pressure. Early in my career, I worked in financial technology sales, where my job was earning the trust of skeptical decision-makers and guiding them through high-stakes choices. I then spent years at CN Rail in rules and regulations, working inside a heavily regulated, safety-critical environment where compliance, documentation, and clear process aren't optional — they're the difference between things going right and things going wrong.
When I looked at what was happening to seniors on Vancouver Island — people waiting 18 months for a hip replacement, in pain, losing mobility, losing independence — I saw a problem I could actually solve. The medical travel infrastructure exists globally. The need exists right here, and across the country. Nobody was connecting the two in a truly personal, accountable way.
That's why I founded Meridian Care Group. Not as a travel agency, not as a booking platform — but as a personally accountable facilitation service rooted in Victoria and open to clients anywhere in Canada who need a trusted hand on this journey.
I hold a GHA Advanced Certified Medical Travel Professional designation and a Silver membership with the Medical Tourism Association — including attendance at their annual Global Medical Tourism & Insurance Summit to maintain direct relationships with hospital executives and partners on behalf of the clients I serve.
British Columbia has some of the longest surgical wait times in Canada. The median wait is 25.8 weeks — and for many procedures, it's significantly longer. For an active 70-year-old waiting for a knee replacement, those months mean lost mobility, growing pain, and diminishing quality of life.
The solution exists. Internationally accredited hospitals in Mexico, Turkey, and other destinations perform tens of thousands of successful procedures on Canadian and international patients every year — at a fraction of Canadian private costs.
What has been missing is a trusted, accountable facilitator who guides Canadians through the process safely — based in Victoria, meeting Vancouver Island clients in person, and supporting clients across the rest of Canada by phone and video with the same standard of care. That is what Meridian Care Group is.
A degree in Transportation Logistics & Business, plus years at CN Rail in rules and regulations — work inside a safety-critical, heavily regulated environment where compliance and documentation are everything. Medical travel runs on the same principles: every detail has to be right, every coordination point managed, nothing left to chance.
Fintech sales: earning trust from skeptical people on high-stakes decisions. Guiding someone through surgery abroad requires exactly the same approach — patience, honesty, rigorous follow-through, and genuine care for the outcome.
GHA Advanced Certified Medical Travel Professional — the industry's most recognized individual certification, from the same body that accredits the world's top international hospitals. Combined with MTA Silver membership and Summit attendance for direct hospital access.
Three principles that are non-negotiable in how Meridian Care Group operates — with every client, on every case.
If medical travel isn't right for your situation, we will tell you — and we will tell you at the very first meeting. We would rather lose a client than send someone into a situation that isn't appropriate for them. Every recommendation we make is one we would make for a family member.
JCI-accredited hospitals. Medical clearance before booking. Lawyer-drafted agreements. Professional liability insurance. Emergency protocols on every trip. We have built every possible safeguard into our process — because this is someone's health, not a holiday booking.
We are based in Victoria. Our clients are our neighbours. That accountability is real — we cannot disappear behind a website when something goes wrong. We are personally answerable to this community for every client we serve, and we take that seriously.
Whether you're exploring options for yourself, a family member, or a patient — start with a free in-person conversation in Victoria. No pressure, no obligation, no forms.
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