Recruiting doctors takes time.
Humboldt's Doctor Recruitment and Retention Committee (HDRRC) has been making progress on bringing more physicians to Humboldt.
"Things are happening. But the process of doctor recruitment takes time," said DonnaLyn Thorsteinson, the executive director of the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce, and the chair of the HDRRC.
Humboldt currently has seven doctors working out of the Humboldt Clinic, down from 10 just 18 months ago. The goal of the HDRRC is to recruit five more, for a total of 12.
The committee, made up of representatives from the HDCC, the City of Humboldt, the Humboldt Clinic, the Saskatoon Health Region (SHR), the Physician Recruitment Agency, the Humboldt District Hospital Foundation and other concerned citizens, was formed in February 2011, when the doctor shortage was recognized as an issue by local businesses, and the Chamber was urged to address it.
Committed to meeting four times a year, but so far meeting more often, the group has opened up the lines of communication between interested parties, Thorsteinson said in a list of the progress the group has made to date.
"We have invited and facilitated the Saskatchewan Medical Association Rural Bus Tour in August, which saw 55 medical students visit our hospital, clinic and community," Thorsteinson said.
The group has also formed a relationship with the SHR so that they are included in the recruitment process for doctors as promoters of the city and region. This has allowed the group to meet with potential recruits as they visit Humboldt, and has meant they have been invited to recruitment events as part of the SHR delegation.
The committee has also started working with the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce to address the issues that are affecting rural health care across Saskatchewan at a provincial level.
The HDRRC also has some big plans for the future.
For one, they're putting together a Doctor Recruitment and Retention Summit in January, where they will be inviting regional partners to help them strategize in both the short and long term.
This summit is to bring all the villages, towns, and rural municipalities whose residents receive care in Humboldt together, Thorsteinson said.
The Humboldt District Hospital and its doctors service a huge area, she noted, and doctors based out of the Humboldt Clinic also hold clinic in places like Bruno and Watson at least once a week. So the shortage of doctors here affects the entire region, not just the city.
"It's time to get them on board," Thorsteinson said of the surrounding communities, "and joining in our efforts."
Planning for the summit is in its very early stages at the moment, but it will likely be an evening event, Thorsteinson said, adding that invitations will be going out to local municipalities soon.
"It really is just to get other partners outside of Humboldt involved in what we're doing, because they're important, too," she said.
Also on the committee's to-do list are continuing to address the inequalities between urban and rural doctors' practices at a provincial level.
One of the things that has come out of their research is the real inequality between rural and urban health care practitioners, Thorsteinson said, especially when it comes to emergency on-call time.
In large centres like Saskatoon or Regina, doctors either work in the emergency room, or they hold clinic hours.
However, in rural centres, doctors are required to be on-call for the emergency room in addition to working at their local clinic. That makes practising in the rural part of the province unattractive to many doctors.
Getting dedicated emergency room doctors at the Humboldt District Hospital is something the HDRRC is looking at, Thorsteinson noted.
"We need... to try to get to that level," she said.
This is one of the issues they have taken to the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, she added, as it's an issue that needs to be addressed on a provincial level.
"We will address it locally on behalf of Humboldt, but we have the Provincial Chamber working on it, too," she said.
The HDRRC also hopes to meet with and educate provincial ministers on the current situation in Humboldt.
"We're working on it," Thorsteinson said. "We hope to have it happen very quickly. A small delegation would be going."
The group will also, of course, continue to work with the SHR in promoting Humboldt, and will meet regularly.
"We are making progress," Thorsteinson stressed.
"We have identified issues and are working towards solutions. There are good things on the horizon, but it does take time," she noted.
"We are working with more (doctors), but it is a long process.... There is a lot of interest in coming to Humboldt, but it takes time to get (new doctors) set up... We are committed to seeing this through and helping retain (new) doctors once they get here," she said.
"We would like to thank everyone for their patience and commitment and for continuing to take the time to work towards our mission: To aid in the recruitment of doctors to the City of Humboldt by promoting the community as a great place to live, work and invest, as well as to ensure retention of these doctors through communication and followup," Thorsteinson concluded.
