Heather Latter
Physician recruiter Todd Hamilton says years of hard work by the local Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee finally is paying off, with four new doctors recently signing on to practice here.
“Riverside, the Town of Fort Frances, the local physician group, some local businesses from time to time . . . have been recruiting physicians and working to retain the physicians that we have for almost 10 years,” Hamilton noted.
“So the 10 years of hard work by this group has finally showed some dividends.
“I think it’s fair to say that adding four new physicians to our community in the span of 10 months is pretty good,” he enthused.
Dr. Stephen Brake, who studied medicine at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, began practising here in September.
“His residency was also in the U.K. and then he moved to Canada after practising for a few years in Scotland,” noted Hamilton, adding Dr. Brake previously lived in the Greater Toronto Area.
“His focus is family medicine and long-term care,” Hamilton said. “He frequents Rainycrest and he’s enjoying his Northern Ontario experience a lot.”
Dr. Vaishali Patel, originally from Kitchener, Ont., arrived here in December.
“She comes to us from St. George’s University of Grenada Medical School,” Hamilton said.
“She completed her residency program, which is a three-year residency, in the United States at UMass Worcester Family Medicine.”
Her focus is family medicine and obstetrics, and she is welcoming new patients in her obstetrics practice.
“With about 180 births annually in our area, she’ll be quite busy,” Hamilton remarked.
“Her focus is really child health and, of course, she is covering in-patients and the ER, as well.
“She will work with students from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine when the two third-year medical students that come in September,” Hamilton said, adding Dr. Patel really enjoys the north.
Meanwhile, Dr. Marc Ruppenstein, who studied medicine at the University of Queensland in Australia, started up his practice here just this month.
“He returned to Canada and he had a residency through the Northern Ontario School of Medicine [NOSM],” Hamilton said, noting Dr. Ruppenstein also took a program called enhanced skills, which focused on ER and clinic.
His focus will be family medicine, ER, and in-patient care. He also will be helping out the students from NOSM.
“Dr. Ruppenstein enjoys the outdoors—one of the main reasons he’s in our area,” Hamilton enthused.
“He loves Northern Ontario.”
Originally from Thunder Bay, Hamilton noted Dr. Ruppenstein has been locuming on and off in Fort Frances for a year or so, so he is very familiar with the community.
Finally, Dr. Melanie Kowal will begin her practice here full-time in August, but will be working in the ER from time to time between now and then.
“She comes to us from the NOSM in Thunder Bay,” Hamilton said, adding she did her residency with NOSM primarily in Kenora and starting practising there in January.
“Her focus is family medicine, and she will be providing ER services, in-patient care, and she actually is an associate professor with NOSM,” he noted.
“So she’s eager to work with the students, as well.”
While pleased to be welcoming these four new physicians to the community, Hamilton stressed the work is not over.
“It will certainly help our physician shortage that we have, but by no means are we fully supported here right now,” he noted.
“We are still short two-three family physicians.”
Hamilton said the committee will continue to work on the recruitment and retention of physicians.
“We do have retirements that are pending,” he warned, explaining doctors also often move around from community to community.
“We should expect some of the doctors to provide two-five years [of service] and then move on,” he noted.
“That’s fully expected with physicians.
“We certainly hope they stay for a long time, but the expectation is three-five years,” Hamilton reiterated. “So we have to be fully prepared.”
The committee also is looking for GP anesthetists, family medicine doctors who also practice anesthesia, as well as a general surgeon.
Hamilton said he currently has two other physicians who have expressed interest in working here.
“They are very good prospects who will be doing site visits/locums from April to July, after which they will let us know their interest level,” he explained, adding he finds it very beneficial when physicians take some time to locum here.
“They really see what great facilities we have, great staff, nice community,” he remarked. “Even in the middle of winter when there’s not a lot to do, we’ve had great success with the locuming doctors that want to check us out.
“Summers are even better,” he smiled. “When they come in the summer, it’s not hard to sell the place.”
However, Hamilton noted other factors can pose difficulties in attracting doctors here, especially when the Ministry of Health is reducing or eliminating programs that have helped in the past.
For instance, he said funding for Continuing Medical Education (CME) used to be offered but isn’t anymore.
“[Physicians] have to go to so many hours of training every year, and most of the programing is in southern Ontario or other major centres,” Hamilton explained.
“It makes it difficult for Northwestern Ontario physicians because it’s another expense they have to incur.”
Meanwhile, the committee is hoping for an increase to the Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative, which provides some funding directly to physicians who work in rural communities.
“That fund has been the same for a while, and it would be really great if the ministry would provide an increase to that fund that would be a little more attractive to the physicians coming to our area,” Hamilton said.
“It may offset the reduction of the CME funding and it might take some of the pressure off our community incentives that we are providing,” he suggested, noting our community is being very generous with the incentives provided to each of the incoming physicians.
“It has been one of our major attractions for them to come here and it’s offered at every other community that we basically compete with,” Hamilton stressed.
“So had we not had that community incentive, I’m pretty sure our physicians would not be in the community.”
For instance, the committee provides all housing, transportation, entertainment, and community and school tours, and co-ordination for site visits and locums.
Upon signing a Return of Service agreement for two years, the committee also provides each new physician a $60,000 financial incentive, a $10,000 moving budget, and an additional $7,000 in lifestyle items (i.e., marina slip, golf and gym memberships, entertainment series, etc.)
“Without these incentives, we wouldn’t match up with other communities,” Hamilton warned.
He also asks the public to be patient with the new doctors.
“The patient base is being allocated to different physicians,” Hamilton noted. “It just takes a little time.
“They will be setting up their practices and moving forward.”
