Staff
With two new physicians set to start at the Fort Frances Community Clinic next month, local physician recruiter Todd Hamilton calls it “good news.”
“It’s great for the community,” he enthused. “It’s positive news.”
Dr. Melanie Halvorsen and Dr. Craig Holland already have been working in the emergency room and clinic here as locums since last month, and are looking forward to their official start.
Dr. Halvorsen, a graduate of the University of Ottawa Medical School, is returning to her home town, having grown up in Fort Frances and attending Fort High.
She along with her husband, Jeff Bottomley, who is an engineer, and their daughter recently moved back to Fort Frances.
Dr. Halvorsen completed her medical residency in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L.
Meanwhile, Dr. Holland, a graduate of Michigan State University College of Osteopathy, has practised in various areas of the U.S., including service in the U.S. military.
He and his wife, Pam, are relocating from Midland, Mich. and look forward to the outdoors and northern lifestyle, as well as having some space to pursue their interest in agriculture and wildlife.
Both physicians will be seeing patients at the clinic, as well as providing emergency room and hospital services.
“I think that once you have recruited some physicians, it attracts other physicians, as well, and that’s a great thing for Fort Frances and our area,” said Hamilton.
He noted the process to recruit the physicians was a long one.
“The previous recruiter worked with [Dr. Halvorsen] and she made the decision to come back to Fort Frances about a year ago,” Hamilton remarked.
“The U.S. physician had contacted me in November, and we had exchanges and visits for the last six-eight months, so that was a long process.”
In a press release, Allan Katz, president and CEO of Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc., lauded Hamilton as instrumental in helping Dr. Holland navigate both the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario certification process and the Citizenship and Immigration Canada process.
“With this experience, we are better prepared to assist other American physicians who may be interested in relocating to our area,” Katz noted.
In addition to the two new physicians, two third-year students from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Lucas Keffer and Robert Foulds, will be working locally for the school year.
Keffer grew up in Fort Frances, where his family has lived for 16 years, while Foulds was born in Thunder Bay and grew up in Nipigon.
After finishing a B.A. in religion and culture, Keffer was admitted to the NOSM West campus.
Foulds, meanwhile, possesses a B.Sc. in Human Kinetics from Guelph and a research-based M.Sc. in Kinesiology and Health Science from York.
“It is very important that we continue to offer opportunities for medical learners from NOSM,” Dr. Jason Shack, chair of the Fort Frances Physician Recruitment Committee, stressed in a press release.
“It provides great exposure to our community for future physicians,” he noted.
In related news, Fort Frances Couns. Paul Ryan and Andrew Hallikas recently resigned from the Physician Recruitment Committee.
There’s been no word yet if council will fill the vacancies.
