Rural communities team up to court doctors

A close call that would have seen the Russell emergency department temporarily close has leaders in the area joining forces to entice more doctors to practise in the town.

“At this point in time, it’s becoming a crisis,” said Louise Perreault, who manages both the Lions Manor and Park Manor, home to approximately 40 seniors.

The ER at the Russell Health Centre was set to close for a weekend earlier this month, but the shutdown was avoided at the last minute when a doctor was found.

Currently, only two doctors work in the community, one at the medical centre and another at a local clinic, but the low numbers are creating concern for many in the area, located roughly 350 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.

The community is at risk of having its emergency department close on a regular basis, leaders say. They rely heavily on locum doctors — new MDs who travel in and out of communities as relief — to cover sickness, vacation and other absences threatening services.

Perreault said bringing more doctors to the region is critical, especially for elderly community members who want to stay put.

“A lot of folks grew up here, raised their families here and have a lot of connections here. For them to have to pack up and move elsewhere would be very, very difficult,” she said.

The rural municipalities of Russell-Binscarth and Riding Mountain West, which have a combined population of about 4,000, have formed the Assiniboine Valley Health Board, which will attempt to draw doctors to the area.

Grant Boryskavich, reeve of Riding Mountain West, said the two RMs are putting up $75,000 each. They want to see five to seven doctors working in Russell.

“Our two municipalities have always worked very closely together,” he said.

It has yet to be determined what kinds of incentives they could offer.

“We’re looking at a few different options,” said Adrienne Falloon, chief administrative officer at Russell-Binscarth. “We’re banding together instead of competing against each other.”

Russell-Binscarth Coun. Wes Anderson said the picturesque area sells itself and offers a laid back, rural lifestyle.

“We are in probably one of the most beautiful parts of the province.”

The two municipalities said their efforts dovetail with the provincial government’s campaign to attract doctors to rural areas, but they want to be able to make the pitch, too.

“We definitely have an edge as far as selling the lifestyle to a single doctor or a doctor who is here with a full family.”

Amy Tweet, Russell-Binscarth’s recreational director, said the ER is not just important to the older population.

“There are people from outside of our area here for sports and recreation, I would say at least once a week, the hospital would be seeing an athletic injury. It’s a busy little area here.”

Tweet hopes the local effort proves successful.

“The doctors that are here are wonderful and they’re working so hard,” she said. “And that’s a fear, too. Are we going to burn them out?”

Murray Clearsky, chief of nearby Waywayseecappo First Nation, says his people rely heavily on the Russell Medical Centre.

“It means a lot to us,” he said.

Clearsky said the board is something his community would like to be a part of in the future, as Russell is the closest emergency department to the community. The other options — Dauphin and Brandon — are more than 90 minutes away.

“It’d be up to Jesus,” he said. “It’d be be up to God to call the shot then, trying to make sure you make it there alive.”

Shared Health, which oversees the province’s health regions, says there’s no complete list of local efforts underway to entice doctors across Manitoba.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the government supports the effort and met with representatives from Russell-Binscarth in recent weeks to learn about issues facing the area.

“As the government, we want to make sure that those pathways to practise in these communities are expedited, clear and are supported,” Asagwara said, noting the recruitment efforts are an “all-hands-on deck” approach.

Asagwara said doctors who have settled in rural Manitoba have been asked about their reasons for doing so and their feedback is part of recruitment efforts.

morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca