Three family doctors originally from the North Bay area will open a family practice together in North Bay, early next year says a news release from North Bay Regional Health Centre.
This decision was encouraged by the recent agreement by North Bay City Council to contribute up to $175,000 annually for the next three years, to family physician recruitment in the community.
The new team of doctors will benefit from grants provided by both the City ($25,000) and the Health Centre ($25,000). The money will assist with their practice start-up costs.
The new physicians are in the process of working out the final details of their office space and will be publicly announcing the location and patient intake process closer to their opening date. When they begin taking patients it is estimated that they will collectively have 3,600 patients on their rosters – lessening the number of patients in our area without doctors by 25 per cent.
It’s estimated there are currently 10,000 to 12,000 people without a family doctor in the North Bay and immediate surrounding area.
Dr. Jonathan Blackadar is one of the new physician team members.
He will join the NBRHC Emergency Medicine Department in mid-July and is looking forward to opening his practise early next year.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to set up a practice in North Bay. I was born, raised and completed my residency training here. I value the opportunity to care for members of my home town community,” says Dr. Blackadar.
The breakdown of the funding announced by the City is that annually, $25,000 will be allocated for up to six physicians and an additional $25,000 will be contributed to NBRHC family medicine recruitment strategies. NBRHC already allocates just over $400,000 annually to all physician recruitment (Family and Specialist). As a condition of receiving these grants, new local doctors are required to meet a series of criteria such as committing to practise for five years in the community, and taking a minimum of 1,200 patients each.
“Addressing North Bay’s doctor shortage continues to be a priority for the Health Centre and we will be working with city officials to further build guidelines around this agreement,” says Chief of Medical Staff at NBRHC, Dr. Donald Fung.
“Access to family doctors for our citizens is a priority for us,” says North Bay Mayor Al McDonald. “We are pleased to partner with the NBRHC to attract and recruit doctors to our city. As a city that promotes healthy active lifestyles, access to primary care is critical to the well-being of our citizens and our community.”
In addition to this extra funding and as a further response to our local doctor shortage crisis, the Health Centre and its Community Partners including the City of North Bay are creating a Physician Resource Team to advise on the set-up of practices in our community.
