Killarney commits big bucks to secure new doctors
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- Published on Friday, March 25, 2016
Submitted by Kim Langen
The Killarney Guide
In a groundbreaking move, the municipality has invested thousands of dollars in order to secure new doctors long-term.
Frustrated by the shortage of physicians in the Killarney-Turtle Mountain area – and losses of present doctors when their four-year contracts run out – the town decided last year to implement their own recruitment program, hiring a specialist company in Winnipeg to get the job done.
And it appears to have paid off.
“We started action on this a year ago and one year later we have two doctors who are committed to relocating and practicing in Killarney,” said Mayor Rick Pauls. “It’s good. Dr. Kate Roche, from Ireland, should start in about six months, and Dr. Mark Bemment, from the U.K., around January 2017. We are not done yet, however. They still have to go through immigration and licensing steps.”
The Tri-Lake Health Centre currently has four doctors, including Dr. Pio, Dr. Sudigala, Dr. Gergis, and Dr. Smal (part-time), who together add up to around a 3.5 doctor number for the area.
But more are needed, which is why council got hustling.
“Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) allows us to have 5.5 doctor positions here, so we are short by two doctors right now, and those two new ones would give us a full complement,” said Pauls. “We have a full complement in the lab, in the nurse numbers and we will soon have it in the doctors.”
It was Gwen Tripp who came up with the idea of using a recruitment company to find new doctors, said Pauls.
“She began lobbying for it while still a municipal councillor around two years ago,” he said. “We created a recruitment committee of around 15 members, with Gwen as chair.”
The recruitment committee eventually engaged the services of Waterford Global Inc., an executive recruiting firm based in Winnipeg.
Council signed a contract with the company in April, 2015 and the search for qualified doctors who would one day make Killarney home began.
But it wasn’t cheap.
“We paid $30,000 in expenses for each doctor, which includes flights, travel, hotels and accommodation, plus $90,000 in recruitment fees for each doctor. That comes to $180,000 for two doctors, plus $60,000 in expenses,” said Pauls. “That’s a total of $240,000, which comes under General Revenue tax dollars. It’s money that we allocated last year and this year.”
Around 17 doctors are currently needed in the PMH region of southwest Manitoba, said Pauls – which includes Brandon.
When the health authority does secure new doctors, they are assigned by PMH to where the need is greatest and Killarney is not necessarily at the top of the list. Many communities are short of doctors, added the mayor – not just Killarney.
“Without this (recruitment) we would have around three years wait for a new doctor and some contracts with our present doctors are reaching completion in the next few years,” said Pauls.
The new doctors recently visited Killarney, where the recruitment committee made them warm and welcome in town. The team organized visits and social events for the physicians; tours of the area, and even gave them a chance to try out local services, including registered therapeutic massage and yoga.
It’s all part of the plan to make them feel at home here and inspire them to relocate.
“These recruited doctors were not looking for jobs. We headhunted them, with an offer,” said Pauls. “A lot of the reason they would leave their home country is quality of life. In the U.K. and Ireland, the workload and hours that are required are significantly higher. Their work-life balance isn’t there for them, but it will be here. These doctors were hand-picked by council to come to Killarney. They liked the community and they chose specifically to come here. Because of that, we think the retention rate will be better.”
Councillor Janice Smith said that she was delighted with the success of the new initiative.
“We should be very proud of stepping out of the box and doing something about the doctor situation and helping out our community,” said Smith. “We definitely want Killarney to grow and securing doctors will help this. We want to sustain the doctors we have and keep them here. How can patients form a relationship if the doctors keep changing?”
The increase in doctor numbers should also put an end to temporary suspension of emergency services in the community, added Pauls.
And it may also mark the beginning of more services offered in the area, said the mayor.
“The clinic is important; the 24/7 emergency services are important to everybody in the area and we are trying to make sure that we remain the regional health centre for southwest Manitoba,” he said. “Killarney has the largest diagnostic services in the southwest. We want to be the Boundary Trails of the southwest. I would like a specialty service for Killarney, possibly stroke rehabilitation, or sports injury. We think we need some extra services here, and we are constantly in touch with PMH about these services. Once we have our doctor numbers, we can look at extending our services.”
The new venture has been a joint effort between the recruitment committee, the municipal council, local hospital staff and the regional health authority, which ultimately employs doctors, said Pauls. He also hopes to see council eventually reimbursed for some of the cash they have invested in order to lure new doctors.
“We are dedicated as a community to ensuring that our health care centre remains viable on a 24/7 basis, and we enjoy the partnership we have with Prairie Mountain Health,” said Pauls. “Are we happy that we are spending money on health care? No. But health care is an essential part of the community. And we are going to try and get the Province to reimburse us for the majority of our recruitment expenses. We are definitely leaders in the field in Manitoba of footing the bill for this.”
