Council has set its sights on attracting new doctors to St. Albert to help alleviate an ongoing shortage.
Mayor Nolan Crouse said he's spoken with several people in recent weeks that have spelled out how desperate the need is for family doctors and specialists in the city. He introduced a motion Monday calling for a physician attraction committee to find solutions.
"We need to have a plan to take care of our residents, medically," Crouse said in an interview. "We really need to make that a priority."
Council unanimously approved creating the committee which will consist of council members, city administration and various community members including doctors and officials with the Primary Care Network. The group would create strategy to make St. Albert more attractive by doing things like keeping cost overheads in check. Its final report will go to council by Oct. 4.
One of the models the committee will look at is Parkland Medical Associates in Spruce Grove. Some 21 doctors currently practice at the clinic, a number that soon could swell to 30.
The facility was built on surplus school land, with involvement from Spruce Grove city council. The clinic has attracted its fair share of St. Albert patients — a four-fold increase in new patients over the last four years, officials previously told the Gazette.
"The Spruce Grove model started out with approximately 10 or 12 doctors," Crouse told council. "I think we can create the atmosphere and nurture the culture to bring more physicians here."
Coun. Carol Watamaniuk said she fully supported the idea, adding that she had also heard from several citizens who do not have local family doctors.
"I've begged my own personal family doctor to take on more patients, and he has," she said.
Work together
Dr. Darryl LaBuick, a St. Albert family doctor, said the city's doctor shortage isn't just an issue within the Capital region, but is a national issue that many health regions are trying to cope with. One of the major reasons for the shortage is a report issued during the Mulroney era called the Barer-Stoddart Report, he said.
The report recommended that Canadian medical schools cut the number of students enrolled each year, something the government followed up on. As a result, fewer doctors have graduated over the last 20 years and the number of doctors retiring has gone up.
"We're up against a wall already," he said. "It's a very difficult thing to recruit."
In terms of attracting doctors, LaBuick said many younger people are looking for a work-life balance. He believes this is something St. Albert can easily offer doctors, and thinks the city should try to highlight that in its strategy.
LaBuick believes the committee should work with existing doctors in the city that are trying to recruit. He said they would have much of the knowledge and experience the committee could need.
"I think that, whenever this is a community effort to attract [doctors] to an area, that's a good thing," he said.
