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Community gets new doctor

Westlock’s newest doctor is embracing the wide open spaces and change in seasons that Canadians sometimes take for granted. Dr.
Dr. Schoombee Erasmus, from Stellenbosch, South Africa, has been practicing at the Associate Medical Clinic since the start of August.
Dr. Schoombee Erasmus, from Stellenbosch, South Africa, has been practicing at the Associate Medical Clinic since the start of August.

Westlock’s newest doctor is embracing the wide open spaces and change in seasons that Canadians sometimes take for granted.

Dr. Schoombee Erasmus, who hails from Stellenbosch near Capetown, South Africa, has been at the Associate Clinic since the start of August.

“I’ve always wanted to work abroad,” said Erasmus.

“Canada has such a different climate than South Africa — there’s no snow in Africa and the mountains aren’t quite as nice. So I was keen to work overseas and explore a different climate. Canada has a lot of good working opportunities as well as a very nice outdoor life.”

Although he admits that he’s a bit nervous for his first winter, he’s excited to be in Canada.

“It’s been good, I’ve been very busy,” he added. “Canada is a First World country, so there are things that are quite different. I think things are generally a lot safer here, and the atmosphere of Canadians are quite relaxed.”

Dr. Erasmus, whose focus is family medicine but is also trained in emergency room work and Anesthesiology, has actually been in Canada since February.

Before he could begin practicing on his own, he first had to demonstrate to the Alberta Medical Association that his knowledge and abilities were up to Canadian standards. To that end, he worked as an understudy in family medicine in Barrhead and had a month-long stint in Grande Prairie working with women in the later stages of pregnancy. He finally completed his certification in anesthesiology before coming to town.

“Some individual doctors here in Westlock contacted me and asked me if I would like to work here,” explained Erasmus.

Erasmus noted that he is very impressed with the Canadian medical system.

“It’s a completely different system,” he explained. “In South Africa you’ve got private and public health care. In Canada you only have public health care. A lot of the frustrations that you have in South Africa you don’t have here. It’s much more functioning.”

He added that part of what drew him to rural Alberta was his love of the outdoors. Among his hobbies are hiking, camping and hunting, and in his short time in Canada he’s managed to get out to the mountains once already.

“I’ve been mostly busy with work, but I did manage to get out to Jasper once and it was very nice out there,” said Erasmus. “I really want to start skiing and snowboarding.”

Dr. Erasmus is the latest person to come through the Town of Westlock’s doctor recruitment program, which provides a $10,000 to help doctors who move to the area to help get them established in exchange for committing to three years of service.

The Town of Westlock, Westlock County and the Village of Clyde pay into the fund. Doctors recruited service all three municipalities.

As the Town of Westlock’s economic development officer Vivian Zittlaw explains, the program was built out of a previous, far more cumbersome and expensive doctor recruitment program.

“A lot the doctors who come here need housing and a vehicle,” explained Zittlaw. “Years ago, what we did was we would get them an apartment, we furnished it, we provided them with a vehicle. It was a totally different program. But back in 2015 we decided to switch over to the $10,000 grant to make it simpler and cheaper. This works really well.”

For his part, Dr. Erasmus is just happy to be in Canada and working.

“I’m very excited to be here,” he said. “I’m quite new, so I still have a lot of space.”

Currently, both the Associate and Pembina Medical Clinics are accepting new patients.

However, patients who need to see a doctor immediately or fill a prescription are invited to visit the Associate Clinic’s walk-in doctor program, where one doctor will be assigned to handle patients who don’t need to see their specific doctor, instead of having to go to the emergency room for non-emergencies.

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