Worried about being able to find a doctor?

The problem of being able to attract and retain doctors in the rural setting is one that has plagued rural communities for years.

This week, Strathmore Mayor Pat Fule revealed on social media after two doctors announced they would be leaving town that the town council and administration are aware of the issue and are in discussions.

Geoff Person Commuications Manager with the Town of Strathmore explained that this is not an issue that will be pushed aside, "We’re grateful to the community for sharing their thoughts and suggestions these past weeks, we know this is a priority.  Physician recruitment and retention is a long-term project, and we’re confident that developing a well thought out strategy will provide the best results."

We spoke with Chestermere -Strathmore MLA Leela Sharon Aheer who assured the community that she is working on the issue and understands how it can be worrying to suddenly lose your family doctor.

“The retention and training of rural doctors has been a really interesting and very humble discussion that many of us as legislators had especially with our municipalities,” she said, stating there needs to be discussions with partners in the region.

She noted that when the UCP were first elected they put funding into the education side of the medical profession.

“When a person who's in practicum for being a family doctor, when they go into practicum and when they decide to take the rural placement, it is in the high percentages that doctors go to rural areas and actually end up staying there.  They have such an amazing opportunity not only to do the work that they've been trained to do but their ability to function within the community,” she said.

“They are so much more than doctors when they live in our communities, they're part of our community,” she said.

“Many of our doctors as you know, in Strathmore, are not only home docs but they have they do circuits in emergency, and they also work in mental health and work in addictions.”

The local MLA spoke of a number of provincial programs that are aimed at attracting and retaining rural physicians, like the RESIDE program, the rural education supplement and integrated doctor experience.

"On top of $6 million in funding, in the new budget there's $2,000,000 to 20 new family physicians over the next three years.  So right now we are not actually identified in Chestermere and Strathmore as being super rural or remote to be identified in this program, however, I'm working on that with our government and with our communities to find out how we can identify within this program to bring docs out to our area,” said Aheer.

She also spoke of the role of nurse practitioners in smaller communities like Strathmore.

“Nurse practitioners work under the primary care network in the family care clinics, so we have a tremendous opportunity because if you look at what they're able to do, they can diagnose and treat common health conditions. They can treat minor injuries, they can order and interpret laboratory reports and tests and they can prescribe now,” she said.

Aheer said the opportunity for nurse practitioners to come into the community is very strong, it’s a matter of looking at the incentives for those professionals to come here.

“Our people and our communities are certainly an incentive for these wonderful folks to come out because they're wonderful communities. There are also the family physicians who are wanting to work in specific communities, so they'll be up to a $60,000 undergraduate tuition fee reimbursement, as well as an incentive that could go anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 depending on how remote the community is.”

She also highlighted the abilities of local nurses.

“We've seen since 2021 that we have 1000 plus more nurses than we had in 2019. So we're seeing a good chunk of new nurses or people, even moving to the province that are coming here because per capita our nurses and doctors have much better pay in Alberta than they do anywhere in Canada, so we're seeing an influx of those folks coming to Alberta,” she said.

On the issue of shortages of doctors or walk-in services in Strathmore Aheer said.

“Your provincial and your municipal partnerships that go towards working on this together for retention is ultimately the solution,” she said.

She said the Chestermere and Strathmore area is the 2nd to 3rd fastest growing area in Canada, and that there is no short-term solution to the problem.

“It's been a long-term issue we've been dealing with, retention for rural docs in our areas, for the last 30 years,” she said.

Person hopes to see residents voices heard, " We encourage residents to write to Alberta’s Minister of Health. The ministry has the resources and people to coordinate a provincial strategy that can help Strathmore and all rural communities address physician recruitment."

Those looking for a family doctor in their area can visit albertafindadoctor.ca.