The numbers are in and rural physician recruitment in the Westlock area continues to grow.
According to statistics from the Alberta Government’s Rural Physician Action Plan (RPAP), since last March, the Westlock area’s concentration of doctors has climbed another 1.5 per cent — from 85.2 physicians per 100,000 inhabitants to 86.6.
With more recruitment on the horizon, Community Economic Development Committee (CEDC) chair Tom Vesely said they’ll need to bolster that concentration to the provincial average of roughly 125 physicians per 100,000 residents.
“Right now, we’re working with Alberta Health Services for another three doctors to replace those that are retiring and will look for an additional three on top of that to fill our needs,” Vesely said.
Doctor recruitment, he explained, is a long process for rural communities, usually taking several years and commitment from various community and government resources.
Everyone from doctors, to local committees, to programs like RPAP contribute to the process, he said.
However, the effort to attract physicians initially is well worth it, especially with graduates.
According to RPAP’s provincial report, released Aug. 8, student doctors who did their rotations more than 400 kilometres from their university started practice a full 142 kilometres further from their alma mater.
“The more you’re exposed to something, the more you recognize the value of the opportunity,” said RPAP interim executive director Jacques Magnan.
In addition to its provincial report, RPAP also provides information and training to local organizations like the CEDC to enhance their abilities to recruit and retain doctors to rural areas.
“It’s about demystifying notions of isolation. It’s about providing a number of different opportunities over the course of a career.”
Town of Westlock mayor Ralph Leriger said that breaking down that mythos can be a difficult task.
Though he said a lot of credit goes towards local recruitment resources and funding, he also said that whatever help is available to those local resources, such as RPAP training, provides tangible support to those initiatives.
“We’ve experienced a fairly frequent turnover of doctors,” Leriger said.
“It’s important that people have access to good doctors, to a family doctor and to good medical care. If programs [like RPAP] are going to ensure that Westlock has an adequate number of doctors to deliver adequate care, that’s a good thing.”
