Article Credit: SteinbachOnline.com

Michelle Bezditny, Chair of the Physician Recruitment & Retention Task Force, presented a report to Steinbach City Council at yesterday evening’s council meeting.

The task force was created in March of 2024 with the purpose of researching how the City of Steinbach can improve their efforts in doctor recruitment and retention.

Bezditny reports that as of June 27, 3,962 citizens do not have a primary care provider, and 442 have a provider but want care closer to home.

The task force is made up of Michelle Bezditny from the Steinbach Economic Development Corporation, Councillors Susan Penner and Jac Siemens, and physicians Dr. Christo Minnaar, Dr. Karen Toews, and Dr. Curtis Krahn.

 

Bezditny says currently Steinbach has the greatest need for family/primary care physicians in the Southern Health region, and part of the reason is Steinbach’s recent significant growth.

Between 2016 and 2021, Steinbach’s growth rate was 11.4 per cent, and data from World Population Review says it has continued at approximately 2.13 per cent annually since 2021.

She says Southern Health estimates that 10 full-time physicians would need to be recruited to begin addressing Steinbach’s current needs.

“Three new full-time physicians, in addition to filling the current seven vacancies.”

Four Recommendations

One recommendation is to increase the intake of medical students from Steinbach and area.

“The task force has identified that a high percentage of local residents who study then practice medicine will stay in the local community after completing their residency.”

She informs that in 2024, the province expanded the number of available residencies by 17 spots, for a total of 173, and all are filled.

Their recommendation is for the municipal government to advocate for designated spots for Steinbach and area medical students.

“The goal for these students: to continue with involvement in the community in which they call home as they are more likely to stay in the communities they grew up in.”

Bezditny says their second recommendation is third-party recruitment with Waterford Global: a firm that recruits talent across various sectors including healthcare.

“Their extensive network and advanced tools enable them to attract top talent from around the world. They have an inventory of practice-ready family physicians who have selected rural Manitoba, and their highly specialized approach to recruitment would have the individual practicing in Steinbach in three to six months.”

Their third recommendation is regarding the 12 physician resident students who have chosen Steinbach to complete their residency.

“Approximately 50 per cent of resident physicians stay in the community they practice in, and most remain in family medicine with a select few choosing to specialize.”

They plan to host a reception for the residents and their families to celebrate their choice of Steinbach.

The task force also seeks 12 host families to support residents and connect them to the community.

Their final recommendation is a community liaison service.

“The long-term goal of the task force is to provide ongoing support to family physician recruitment and retention, which could potentially include targets in addition to family/primary care physicians, such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, specialists, etc.”

Bezditny says the service could provide future project development to meet the needs of healthcare professionals.

“Such as access to 24/7 childcare, housing, host-family alignment, partner/dependent employment opportunities, community events, etc.”

 

She adds Steinbach Economic Development Corporation would be equipped to help oversee the liaison service along with the task force.

 

The Budget

Bezditny shares the budget for the implementation of these four solutions.

The first solution, increasing medical student intake, involves no cost, as it is a matter of advocacy.

The second recommendation’s cost, third-party recruitment, is dependent on the number of physicians.

“Waterford Global’s fee for service is $90,000 per physician for a four-year return of service agreement.”

The third recommendation regarding the 12 physician resident students would cost between $4,500 and $5,100, as they want to hold a welcome reception and provide gift baskets for each resident.

 

Finally, they recommend hiring someone to work five hours per week for the community liaison service, costing the City an annual fee of $15,000.

The total request is $20,000 plus Waterford Global’s fees.

 

Council's Comments

Mayor Earl Funk says it's great to see the task force focus on long-term solutions.

“Because I don’t want to be doing this again in 10 years like we did in 2009, and then now again in 2024. I would hate that in 10 years when I’m no longer Mayor, we have to have another task force. I want to act now and get this done.”

Councillor Susan Penner says designating seats for students from Steinbach would benefit our area greatly.

 

“I’ve had the opportunity to talk to doctors both on the committee and one’s who weren’t part of the committee, and it’s interesting how important family and friends and relationships are to them as well, just like they are to everybody else.”

She says people want to be close to home, and family draws people back to where they are from.

“We’ve got these situations where doctors who are not from the area are practicing here, maybe they even buy a house here and live here for a while, once they start having a family, they want to be closer to home and they end up moving away.”

Penner explains that local doctors are more likely to stay, while those from outside are more likely to leave.

 

“And the odds of Steinbach having enough doctors would be greatly improved if more of our students would be allowed into med-school.”

She says the lack of student physicians in Steinbach is not from a lack of interest.

“There are many local qualified students who have been trying to get into med-school for years now, so designating these spots will allow for a greater chance of us fulfilling that need for long-term doctors that will stay in our area.”

Mayor Earl Funk adds they gave the Minister of Municipal and Northern Relations, Ian Bushie, a tour of Steinbach last week.

“Doctor recruitment did come up, and I said, 'would it not be fair in order to keep doctors in Manitoba, areas that have medical facilities, to allow a certain number of seats per capita in the medical school?' And he was very agreeable to it.”

 

He says this is an area where council can advocate.

“We can write letters, we ask ministers to come down to Steinbach, and we can keep putting this in front of them.”

Funk says council needs to take the rest of this report, look at it from a budget point of view, and see what they need to do on council to start implementing some of these things.

“It won’t get fixed overnight, but every small step is a step in the right direction.”