Manitoba towns take hands-on approach to deal with doctor shortages

At this Killarney cafe, manager Marlon Tripp says Healthcare is a hot topic of conversation. Right now we are in a doctor shortage. The town and surrounding area is home to about 3500 people and takes a hands on approach to doctor recruitment. Even though healthcare falls under provincial jurisdiction, that has been the the age-old question. This is not a municipal responsibility. Mayor Janice Smith says they first turned to a Winnipeg based recruitment firm called Waterford Global back in 2016. It helped the community find 2 doctors, but now one is leaving after five years of service, and they’re bringing back the company to find three more physicians. We need to fill these spots as fast as we possibly can. Killarney isn’t alone. Municipal officials in Hamioda and Glen Borough also say they’ve hired Waterford Global to find physicians. It can cost between 90 and $150,000 per doctor, but Prairie Mountain Health has agreed to split the cost with communities we’ve had to explore sort of every Ave. possible. To ensure that we have physicians to support rural communities, Prairie Mountain Health CEO Trina Slate says the region is short about 80 doctors. She knows international recruitment alone won’t meet the needs of the area, but there are success stories. Rachel Bement left England for Killarney with her husband seven years ago. He was recruited to work as a doctor. She now runs his clinic. They fell in love with the work and the town. From my point of view, it was the community living that I was attracted to. Government should think about giving more financial help to students growing up in these small towns who are interested in becoming doctors. That’s according to doctor Sarah Giles, who works in Kenora. These are the people who will thrive in a rural environment, understand what it means to live and be a part of the community, and be those long term rural doctors that we need. Manitoba’s health minister says the government is working with health authorities to recruit more doctors, but with the province struggling, communities say they have no choice but to get involved too. As for TRIP, he supports the community’s efforts. I think they’ve done a good job of going out and and, you know, finding potential candidates to fill those position spots. 3 weeks ago he suffered A mild stroke while at work, a medical scare that underscored the importance of getting timely care in a rural area. Josh Crabb, CBC News, Killarney.