Bayshore News File Photo
The Municipality of Kincardine says it is actively recruiting family physicians to work a combination of clinic, hospitalist, and ER shifts.
Kincardine left a physician recruitment partnership with Bruce Power and Saugeen Shores this past spring. A past Bayshore Broadcasting News report describes council in February discussing their desire for a full-time physician recruiter, which the partnership did not have at the time of discussion.
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A release from the Municipality Thursday says, Council has created an incentive package with the aim of meeting the needs of physicians during the recruitment process.
As part of that incentive package, the Municipality says visiting physicians have access to locum house accommodations. The release explains, “Two homes were generously purchased by The Society of United Professionals in 2014 to support the Municipality’s physician recruitment.” The Society of United Professionals represents over 8,000 professionals provincewide including 1200 local members who work at Bruce Power.
Physician Recruiter Chrystel Murphy says, “These accommodations are crucial to our physician recruitment efforts, and we wholeheartedly thank The Society of United Professionals for their substantial support.”
The Municipality says, a significant number of residents do not have access to a regular family practitioner for primary care. It notes, the South Bruce Grey Health Centre Kincardine Emergency Room is also understaffed and at continual risk of daily or night closures.
According to the Municipality, there are more than 14,000 patients in Kincardine and just ten family Physicians who – along with primary care – provide hospital inpatient coverage, nursing and retirement home care, pregnancy and baby wellness programs, palliative care, memory clinics, mental health management, and care for patients in all stages of life.
Murphy says in a statement, “A vibrant community is dependent on reliable access to healthcare,” adding, “The goal is for every person to have access to a family physician to support their wellbeing and for our hospital to have the necessary physicians to support hospital services and the emergency room. We are hard at work to recruit three new family physicians.”
Those who would like to help with physician recruitment efforts are being encouraged to join the Municipality of Kincardine “Physician Squad” which is a group of area ambassadors willing to showcase attractions, activities, and quality of life to visiting physicians.
For more information about the Physician Squad, or to join, you can contact Chrystel Murphy, Physician Recruiter, at physicianrecruitment@kincardine.ca or 519-385-5266.
More information about the Municipality of Kincardine’s Physician Recruitment program can be found at www.kincardine.ca/pr.