Norfolk County councilors want a visit from a Norfolk General representative before they hand over $106,000 to the hospital for physician recruitment.
Advertisement 2
Article content
At a council-in-committee meeting on Wednesday, councilors postponed making a decision about whether they’d approve a request from the hospital for the funding, which would be used to lure doctors to Norfolk.
“I have a lot of problems with this request,” said Mayor Amy Martin. “Firstly, I’m disappointed that no one is here to speak to it from the hospital.”
The mayor also questioned how the money might be spent. A briefing submitted by Carolynn Beam, Norfolk General’s physician recruiter, and Todd Stepanuik, hospital president and CEO, outlined the strategies it uses to bring doctors to the area, including participation at recruitment events, medical student/resident placements, housing support, promoting Rural Medicine Week, and creating advertising.
Advertisement 3
Article content
Some of the associated costs outlined in the briefing are $30,000 for events related to the Southern Ontario Physician Recruiter Alliance; $36,000 for accommodation for students and temporary physicians; $15,000 for physician site visits; and $5,000 for swag/recruitment banners and gifts.
Norfolk County has earmarked $250,000 toward the recruitment of doctors to address a significant shortage of those practicing in the municipality.
According to Ontario Health, Norfolk requires a minimum of eight primary care physicians to cover its current population. The situation will worsen as local doctors withdraw. Twenty per cent of county residents are rostered with a physician who is 60-plus years of age. Norfolk currently has 34 primary care practitioners, four of whom are over age 65.
Advertisement 4
Article content
“With approximately 12 per cent of the current practitioners nearing or possibly considering retirement, there could be a future gap in service that will need addressing,” said the briefing.
A report prepared by Heidy Van Dyk, the county’s general manager of corporate services and a member of Norfolk’s physician recruitment committee, said the group discussed the option of providing incentives to lure physicians. Those could include housing support and subsidies; office space and start-up assistance; and covering educational expenses and student debt in exchange for a commitment to practice locally for a specific number of years.
But Van Dyk said some committee members raised concerns that incentives “could create a divide between physicians who are incentivized to come to Norfolk County” and physicians who have already set up a local practice.
Advertisement 5
Article content
“I’m not sure that’s a reason that incentives not be part of recruitment,” said Martin. “I’d hope they’d recognize there would be more team members to spread the work around.
“I’m committed to a physician recruitment program and putting some money out the door but not without someone who’s going to come and speak to the validity of this type of recruitment program, like wag and recruitment banners.”
The mayor said she had recent conversations about two physicians looking to relocate to Canada from the United States and suggested advertising directed at American doctors may be “better than advertising in Rural Medicine Week.”
Van Dyk said many medical students are looking for a more “balanced practice” with time split between hospital work and their own practices.
“The feeling (among the recruitment committee) was supporting hospital recruitment would be supporting community physician recruitment in Norfolk as a partnership.”
The matter will come to an upcoming council meeting in the hope of having a representative from Norfolk General Hospital there to answer questions.
Article content