A big hole in Estevan's medical community has been filled with the addition of a new doctor last week.
A grand opening ceremony was held Friday at the St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation Clinic for Dr. Yusef Kasim who has set up practice in the now full facility. Kasim, who is originally from Africa and had stops in London, England and Swan River, Manitoba before coming to Estevan, is an obstetrician and gynecological specialist, two roles that were sorely needed at St. Joe's.
"It's so key right now because with Dr. Naidu going, we didn't have obstetrics," said Bridget Bittman, the co-ordinator of the Estevan Health Committee. "He can do all the c-sections and complicated deliveries. We are getting him support - he needs an anesthetist - and one of the doctors that we have coming in January will be able to provide that support full time.
"Dr. Kasim is young and has a young family and they are really excited about being here. They want to get involved in the community."
Bittman added that although Kasim is a specialist and patients are generally referred to specialists, he will take patients if they are not already established with another doctor. The number for his clinic is 637-2770.
A handful of local politicians and health-care officials were on hand for Friday's grand opening. Among them was Mayor Gary St. Onge who was pleased to hear of Dr. Kasim's arrival in the community.
"This is a good (addition) here because we need somebody involved with OB/GYN. A lot of women are really happy about (Dr. Kasim) coming in. It's a good day and let's hope we have a lot more of these."
After dipping to perilously low levels, the number of physicians in Estevan has rebounded in the last few months with the addition of Kasim as well as Drs. Olowu and Omisigho.
St. Onge credited the work of Bittman and the local health committee who were forced to take the bull by the horns and aggressively recruit doctors to Estevan.
"I don't think we were getting the support from Sun Country, I don't have a problem saying that. Now we are getting better support but we had to get the ball rolling ourselves which is unfortunate," St. Onge said.
Although the situation has improved, it is far from perfect. The city still has an overall shortage but there is more help on the horizon.
There are two doctors expected in Estevan this January and Bittman said they have eight acceptances overall though she cautioned some of them must still go through the government evaluation process which can be a tricky ordeal.
"The guy that is coming in January has his master's in orthopedic surgery and he is also a general practitioner," Bittman said. "We are doing everything we can to work towards regional hospital status.
"We have the ultrasound machine in place, they have the electronic medical records in place. They are working on getting a CT scan in place. We still have some growing pains here to go and obviously all the physicians will all have to settle in and learn to work together and see what the system is. Dr. Sheikh is really stepping up to the plate to talk to (the doctors) and mentor."
