There certainly were two good news stories on the medical front here this past week.
Just yesterday, Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc. received formal approval from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to proceed with purchasing a CT scanner for La Verendrye Hospital here.
District residents clearly showed they wanted access to such technology close to home by raising $1.5 million towards its purchase in just five short months. Thanks to that incredible effort, the CT scanner should be here by Christmas.
Meanwhile, two third-year students from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine were welcomed to town last week as they start their 30-week comprehensive community clerkships.
For the students, it’s a chance to work with physicians at La Verendrye Hospital and the Fort Frances Community Clinic, as well as observe specialists and various local allied health-care professionals like chiropractors and speech pathologists, to help further their studies.
For the town, one of just 10 communities across Northern Ontario to greet medical students this month, it’s a way to showcase Fort Frances in hopes they would be willing to practise medicine here once they graduate, which was the rationale behind the creation of the NOSM in the first place.
Doctor recruitment continues to be a pressing issue for communities like Fort Frances, but it certainly appears that we’ve taken steps in the right direction over the past year to help alleviate that need.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
