New doctors, nurses welcomed to area

Nine new family doctors and two nurse practitioners were welcomed to the community on Oct. 2 as the St. Thomas-Elgin Health Recruitment Partnership, in conjunction with St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce and Doug Tarry Homes (DTH), hosted a “meet-and-greet” in Central Elgin.

The health care workers were treated to soft drinks, finger foods and an opportunity to hob-nob with local entrepreneurs and business owners, learning more about their adopted community in a new DTH home at Eagle Ridge, a neighborhood southwest of Sunset Drive and Southdale Line.

The local initiative targets a national crisis impacting more than one in five Canadians – an estimated 6.5 million people – who don’t have regular family doctors or nurse practitioners, according to the Canadian Medical Association (CMA).

“We started the Health Recruitment Partnership (in 2007) because we recognized as a group, with so many doctors that would be retiring, that there was a need to connect with doctors who want to come to the area, and put together a program for them,” the Partnership chair and St. Thomas Councillor Lori Baldwin-Sands said in an interview.

“We have a dynamo as a recruiter (Uzo Ajogwu) and we’ve been able to do nine this year with two registered nurse practitioners, which helps to fill some of the gaps and some of the voids, especially getting that primary care that we need to create in our community,” she added. “This year has been an exceptional year, and we’re very proud of the work that’s being done by our committee and by our recruiter.

For more details, see the Oct. 8 edition of The Aylmer Express.