Airell joined the practice in January 2006 after working in the Pilbara and Kimberleys. His medical experience includes anaesthetics, paediatrics, travel/tropical medicine and medical education. Airell is a member of Australian Society of Aerospace Medicine and is a Designated Aviation Medical Examiner. As a rural generalist, his time is divided between general practice and critical care/anaesthetics in Albany and surrounds.

Alec is originally from Dunsborough and completed his medical degree at the University of Western Australia in Perth, graduating in 2020. He worked at Albany Health Campus and Perth Children’s Hospital before returning to Albany to pursue a career in General Practice. Alec joined Pioneer in 2024 and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Child Health.

Alec enjoys the full breadth of general practice, providing holistic, person-centered care. Alec has special interests in paediatrics, men's health, sexual health, chronic disease management and preventative healthcare. Outside of medicine, Alec enjoys playing his guitar and piano, bird watching, fishing, and spending time with friends and family.

Graduating in 1999 from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, Claire spent 7 years as a Resident Medical Officer gaining experience in various fields before joining the South African National Antarctic Program where she provided medical support for 5 voyages down to the remote subantarctic islands of Marion, Gough and Tristan da Cunha. Deciding it was time to put the sea legs away, she worked as a GP in Pretoria for 14 years and in 2021, together with her husband and two daughters, immigrated to WA. Medicine aside, Claire has a passion for people, travel, cultural diversity and finding spiritual peace in the great outdoors.

David is a practice principal at Pioneer Health. His interests include preventative medicine, mental health, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and skin cancer surgery. He leads the Pioneer Health Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) service. He has trained in obstetrics (including caesarean sections) and is a part of the practice obstetrics team. His other interests include efficiency in health care and diagnostic reasoning. He accepts referrals of patients for whom there is diagnostic uncertainty. David is active in teaching medical students and junior doctors and is often accompanied by junior doctors during consultations at the practice. David is married and has a teenage son. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, reading, traveling, cooking and business development. He also speaks fluent German. David works most days apart from when he is working at the hospital.

Emma is originally from Bunbury and completed her medical degree at the University of Western Australia in Perth. After completing one year of work at Royal Perth Hospital she moved to Albany. She worked at Albany Health Campus for two years before making the transition into general practice. In her spare time Emma enjoys swimming in the icy waters at Middleton Beach, spending time in her garden and salsa dancing.

Erica is an experienced GP who studied medicine at the University of WA and has worked for many years in the southern suburbs of Perth.

She enjoy all aspects of General Practice, with particular interests in Women’s Health and Counselling and Mental Health.

As well as General Practice, Erica is involved with teaching medical students and GP trainees, a role which she find enhances and refines her clinical work.

When not at work, Erica loves bush walking, swimming and camping, and has recently rekindled an interest in machine embroidery, quilting and crochet. She loves spending time with family and friends, especially if good coffee is involved!

Felipe is originally from Brazil, where he grew up in the far North of the country and was living in Rio before moving to New Zealand in 2004 to study physics. He worked as a natural hazards scientist at a commercial enterprise attached to Macquarie University in Sydney from 2007 to 2015 when he decided to change career to medicine. He studied at UWA and graduated in 2019 and has worked at Albany Hospital for two years, with a brief stint in Port Augusta SA. Felipe is currently training to be a rural generalist and enjoys reading vintage Scrooge McDuck comics to his 3 year old son.

Areas of interest include adult and elderly medicine, women’s post-reproductive health (menopause), men’s health, and chronic disease management.

Gareth completed his specialist GP training in the UK and has been in Albany since August 2023. He was admitted as a Fellow of the RACGP in August 2024.

In his time off Gareth is a keen cyclist and enjoys bushwalking.

James was born in South Africa but has mostly grown up in Australia and moved to live in Albany with his family in 2007. He loves working as a rural GP and has had the privilege of living and working in beautiful Albany for over 15 years. James has enjoyed being a part of the growth of Pioneer and has a particular interest in supervising and training junior doctors, chronic disease management and family medicine. He has special skills in dermatology and skin cancer management and has been a part of the Albany Skin Clinic since its inception. Outside of work James loves spending time with his wife and 4 children, being part of his local church and getting involved in all sorts of musical groups and community theatre.

Dr Jeroen Buis is a medical graduate from the Netherlands, where he completed his general practice training in 2004. His early career included diverse internships in Italy, Malawi and the USA, sparking a strong interest in global medicine and ultimately leading him to Australia in 2014. He attained Fellowship with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) in 2016.

Recognised as a Rural Generalist through his extensive work in regional communities such as Esperance, Dr Buis brings a broad and practical skill set to his practice. His clinical interests include minor surgery, emergency medicine and child psychiatry. He works regularly in the Emergency Department at Albany Hospital and is also part of the Albany Skin Clinic team. He has further strengthened his dermatology expertise by completing the RACGP Certificate of Primary Care Dermatology and the Skin Cancer College Certificate of Dermoscopy.

After five years in Esperance, Dr Buis and his family relocated to Albany, where he continues to provide patient-centred care, working collaboratively with patients to develop tailored treatment plans. Outside of work, he enjoys skiing, reading, playing hockey and spending time with his wife and daughters.

JJ completed his primary medical degree and a postgraduate diploma in family medicine in South Africa before moving to Australia in 2008. He started his Australian journey in Broome Hospital, where he worked as a District Medical Officer before moving to Albany in 2011.

He has completed his RACGP fellowship and postgraduate diplomas in dermatology and dermoscopy and has also completed his Master of Medicine (MMed) degree in Skin Cancer at the University of Queensland.

His special interests include family medicine, chronic disease management, dermatology, skin checks, skin cancer surveillance following skin cancer and primary skin cancer surgery.

He enjoys the outdoors, gardening, running and spending time with his family.

Jolmer has now been with Pioneer Health for the last 6 years. He is a medical graduate from The Netherlands. After specialising in third world medicine and working in Southern Africa, he moved to Australia with his young family in 2006. After 10 years in rural NSW he became a fellow of the College of Rural and Remote Medicine before moving to Albany.

He has always had a keen interest in small procedural medicine including vasectomies and skin excisions. In the last few years, he has furthered his qualifications in this field and in 2018 he became an Accredited Skin Doctor with the Australian College of Skin Cancer Medicine. With the growing demand for good diagnosis and skin cancer treatment in the Great Southern, Jolmer has decided to focus his work at Pioneer Health on Skin Cancer Medicine. This will mean increased availability for skin checks and excisions at our practice.

When Jolmer is not at work he likes to make the most of the region and his few acres where the family has a milking cow, bees and a nice food garden.

John is a local Western Australian graduate who has completed his Fellowship in General Practice and a number of advanced courses in dermatology, skin microscopy and skin surgery. His special interest is dermatology, including skin cancer identification and treatment, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of significant skin rashes with immune modifiers and phototherapy. Outside medicine, he enjoys spending time gardening, as well as Jiu Jitsu and strength training.

Josh is originally from the UK, graduating from the University of Birmingham in 2020. He has lived across Australia including the Gold Coast, Mackay, and Fremantle before settling on Albany to be his new home. He is training to be a rural generalist with an interest in both general practice and emergency medicine. He loves camping, hiking, and cycling.