Dear sir:
In response to the article, “Clinic in hunt for more doctors,” that appeared in the Fort Frances Times on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 1999, I would like to clarify and correct the information that was reported.
•The Health Professionals Recruitment Tour, not “team,” is sponsored by the ministries of Health and Northern Development and Mines, and will be held Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, 1999.
•Dr. Pierre Mikhail and Mrs. Maureen Gartshore will represent the Rainy River District, recruiting for and representing the Fort Frances Clinic and Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc.
•The purpose of the tour is to provide underserviced communities in Ontario the opportunity to meet and recruit health professionals in the five southern Ontario university sites–Ottawa, Kingston, London, Hamilton, and Toronto.
•The Fort Frances Clinic currently is recruiting two general/family practitioners. Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc. is recruiting for physiotherapists, and casual and part-time registered nurses.
•Although there is not an urgent need for more physicians in Fort Frances at the moment, it is important to be mindful of the future when our community may experience a loss of physicians due to retirement or physician relocation. Recruitment is an ongoing process.
•Several initiatives have proved beneficial to physician recruitment in Fort Frances:
–The Community Recruitment Committee, consisting of Abitibi-Consolidated, Fort Frances Clinic, Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc., and the Town of Fort Frances, has developed a successful recruitment strategy and offers a community incentive package to new physicians.
–Alternate payment plans for General Surgeons and G.P. Anaesthetists have not only assisted in recruitment but also in the retention of physicians in our community.
–Lifestyle and the ability to have a flexible medical practice are concerns expressed by new physicians and their families. Fort Frances has successfully addressed these issues.
–Finally, state-of-the-art medical equipment comparable to that found in large southern Ontario hospitals, plus recent renovations at both La Verendrye General Hospital and the Fort Frances Clinic, have played–and will continue to play–a significant role in our ability to recruit new physicians to Fort Frances.
Signed,
Maureen Gartshore
Administrator,
F.F. Clinic
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
