Bonfield council agreed to commit $1,200 per year for the next five years to support physician recruitment at Mattawa Hospital. Tanya Belanger and Dr. Bryan Williams presented to council to provide an update on the recruitment program and request the funding commitment.
“Recruitment costs are really minimal,” noted Dr. Williams, as there are no full-time staff employed for recruitment. He volunteers time for the cause, as does Belanger. “I was recruited through the physician recruitment, just to give you an idea of how long this has been going on,” he said, adding he’s been with the hospital for 30 years.
He’s also the youngest doctor there, and knows that without young ones coming up, those pending retirements will go unfilled. Doctors are “scarce” he admitted, particularly in Northern and rural regions.
However, “we’ve been extremely successful” in recruiting, Dr. Williams added. “We have signed two physicians with an intent to come.” These two, once medical school is complete, will serve at the Mattawa Hospital for at least four years.
With scarce talent it’s difficult for municipalities to recruit, and many are offering financial incentives to attract physicians. However, Dr. Williams said, “it’s not the money that’s going to attract people. It’s what we have to offer as a small community hospital that we take a lot of pride in.”
The $1,200 figure was derived from “the percentage of population that uses our services” explained Belanger.
Mayor Narry Paquette shared that a couple of years ago she had heart problems, “and my family certainly credits Mattawa Hospital for having saved my life, and I certainly support this in every way possible.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
