The volunteer executive charged with recruiting and retaining doctors in Kinmount say they hope to bring at least one new physician to the community next year – and now they have the funds to pull it off.
Kim Restivo Galea and Susan Forrester have been working with the Kinmount District Health Services Foundation (KDHSF) for years to bolster health services in the area. They were at the 26th annual Journey for Health fundraiser at Austin Sawmill Park Aug. 11, which saw approximately 100 participants raise just over $14,000.
That will pay just over a third of the relocation fee KDHSF offers new recruits – Restivo Galea said the community provides a one-time $30,000 bonus to new family physicians and also covers costs for site visits, while assisting with necessities such as house hunting, securing a vehicle and getting settled in.
“Competition is extremely stiff between is committed to finding two more physicians to bring to Kinmount. “We can help physicians fill out the paperwork to have their credentials vetted by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. We also complete a labour market impact assessment to show we couldn’t get a Canadian doctor to work here,” Forrester said. “We’re one of the closest locations to the GTA that qualifies for the Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative… which can earn physicians up to an additional $88,000.” Forrester is optimistic – two foreign doctors recently completed site visits in Kinmount and are considering the community. municipalities competing for physicians. We want to be able to offer a competitive relocation incentive – we have to do that if we have any hope of someone coming here to practice,” Forrester said. “We like to have enough money in our budget so that if a doctor says yes, we can proceed right away.”
It’s not as simple as someone handing in notice at their current position, hopping in a car and driving to cottage country, though. Forrester said the 10 leads the foundation has had over the past year – doctors who have shown an interest in working in Kinmount, all live overseas.
While that brings challenges, Forrester said searching internationally is the only realistic way to fill much-needed positions. Kinmount welcomed Dr. Lesslie Ponraja, an immigrant from the UK, in February 2023. He’s fit in well at the health centre, assuming the practice following Dr. Elena Mihu’s retirement last summer.
With approximately 2,000 patients on Ponraja’s rota, Forrester said the foundation is committed to finding two more physicians to bring to Kinmount.
“We can help physicians fill out the paperwork to have their credentials vetted by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. We also complete a labour market impact assessment to show we couldn’t get a Canadian doctor to work here,” Forrester said. “We’re one of the closest locations to the GTA that qualifies for the Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative… which can earn physicians up to an additional $88,000.”
Forrester is optimistic – two foreign doctors recently completed site visits in Kinmount and are considering the community.
“They just need to decide if it’s Kinmount or somewhere else – they always have multiple offers,” she said.
Several physicians currently working elsewhere in Canada have also been in touch, liking the idea of working the twilight years of their career in cottage country.
“We are on the map now, which is just awesome,” Restivo Galea said. “It really helps having Dr. Ponraja here, because he’s proof this works. He’s moved from another country and is thriving in Kinmount.”
Some of the funds from this year’s fundraiser will go to upgrades at the clinic.
Forrester thanked the community for supporting this year’s record-breaking fundraiser, which she said saw considerable support from the Minden community still reeling from the loss of its emergency department.
“For a lot of people, we don’t have a local hospital. Our clinic is all we have. We’re so far away from other medical services, the health and future of our community depends on the success of the health centre,” she said. “Our hope is, someday, we won’t have to do this. We want the government to fix healthcare so we don’t have to ask local people for support.”
