Duane Hicks
With recent successes in attracting doctors here, the local physician recruitment committee’s coffers need replenishing—ideally with the help of more district municipalities or perhaps even the province.
Riverside Health Care Facilities Inc. CEO Ted Scholten is developing an annual budget that will include anticipated recruitment revenue from the town, Emo, and Riverside.
Once established, it will give the committee a better idea of how much they will ask from surrounding municipalities and First Nations, Coun. Wendy Brunetta, who sits on the Fort Frances Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee, told town council Monday night.
Until the committee has “a solid funding source” available, Brunetta said the committee has changed its posting on a health-care job site, HealthForceOntario, and is not stating any specific amount in regards to an incentive for physicians.
Instead, it is stating “incentives are available.”
Riverside has a new surgeon starting in July, and the committee will be fulfilling its promise to provide agreed-upon incentives to him.
Another new doctor is due to start possibly in the fall, and the committee wants to ensure it has funds available to pay for that recruit, as well.
The Town of Fort Frances already has paid its doctor recruitment fee for 2016 in the amount of $69,000 ($68,000 plus a $1,000 contingency fund).
The recruitment committee is requesting the town consider giving an advance on its 2017 contribution, Coun. Brunetta noted.
It also asked if the town could allow donations to the physician recruitment fund using the town’s charitable number.
But at a recent Administration and Finance meeting, Fort Frances treasurer Laurie Witherspoon explained the latter is not possible due to the fact that “doctor recruitment is not a normal function of the town,” and it possibly could jeopardize the town’s charitable status, said Coun. Brunetta.
The Riverside Foundation for Health Care is restricted in the same regard, she added.
With regards to the advance, the doctor recruitment grant the town has been paying was at one time a capital grant for La Verendrye Hospital—the result of a long-standing agreement between the town and hospital that expired this year.
This means the town is not obligated to keep paying it.
Mayor Roy Avis said Fort Frances has been a steady supporter of doctor recruitment, but stressed council is not in a position to make a 2017 budget decision before the budget process even has begun.
He added “it’s shameful” that other municipalities, aside from Emo, have not done their part to help pay for doctor recruitment—letting it fall on the backs of Fort Frances taxpayers.
“I think it’s time we sat down with the different players in the doctor recruitment process and try to come up with a real strategy where it’s shared throughout the district, as it should be,” said Mayor Avis.
Now that the town no longer is obligated to pay, Coun. Paul Ryan said Fort Frances will be looking through “a different lens.”
“We’ll have to decide amongst ourselves what we want to do about this,” he remarked.
“We can do nothing; we don’t have to, we’re not committed anymore.
“It’s something that will have to come up at budget time and be discussed at that point,” Coun. Ryan added.
Coun. Doug Kitowski said, as a taxpayer, he has a problem with the town paying for a service everybody uses but not everybody contributes to.
Coun. Ken Perry noted Ontario remains one of the only provinces in Canada where municipalities contribute to doctor recruitment.
“Medical coverage and medical care in other provinces are covered by the province and towns are pitted against each other to supply dollars to bring doctors into the community,” he noted.
“Everybody should be paying,” Coun. Perry reasoned. “How do you do that? Through provincial taxes.
“It’s ludicrous that we’re even talking about this.
“The provincial government should be coming forward and getting us doctors, and not pitting us against Thunder Bay, pitting us against Dryden, pitting us against Rainy River or Atikokan,” he stressed.
Some smaller communities contribute in their own way, such as Rainy River, which raised money to build a locum house there, but it’s hard for them to compete.
“Hey, Ontario government—pay the bills!” Coun. Perry said.
