Lethbridge City Hall. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Lethbridge City Council approves measures to recruit doctors

May 11, 2022 | 8:17 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The City of Lethbridge will undertake a series of initiatives aimed at bringing more physicians to the community.

At the Tuesday, May 10, 2022, regular meeting of Lethbridge City Council, members voted unanimously to approve a trio of recommendations – advocating for an Academic Teaching Clinic, contributing to a marketing plan, and forming new partnerships.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen hopes that these initiatives will go a long way in addressing the long-standing doctor shortage.

“This is something that’s super exciting for me to speak about because it’s something that we’ve heard loud and clear from the community… So I’m really looking forward to having these new doctors [and] physicians come to our community,” says Hyggen.

The city will write to Health Minister Jason Copping, advocating for support and funding for the creation of an Academic Teaching Clinic in Lethbridge.

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Hyggen hopes that this will be a long-term solution that will ensure a more steady stream of physicians are not only being trained here, but will settle down here.

Another approved action will see the municipality allocate $15,000 from council contingency funds to a marketing and recruitment campaign in partnership with the Chinook Primary Care Network (CPCN), Alberta Health Services (AHS), Economic Development Lethbridge, and other interested groups.

At a recent city committee meeting, Dr. Michael Auld, a Medical Director in Alberta’s South Zone, said marketing efforts would be used to showcase the lifestyle in Lethbridge.

Dr. Auld adds that these funds would be used to leverage more money out of other parties.

The final part of the city’s approved action plan is to explore opportunities for collaboration and partnerships with groups such as AHS and the CPCN.

It was previously suggested that the City of Lethbridge pursue partnerships in a number of ways, including leasing city-owned facilities for the purpose of setting up family medical practices, exploring space requirements for future clinics, and providing financial incentives in the form of tax cancellation or grants.

Hyggen is optimistic that the city’s physician recruitment efforts will be fruitful.

“City Council is continuing to show our commitment to Lethbridge residents with a common goal of recruitment and retention of family physicians for our community,” says Hyggen. “Having strong primary health care is vital to the growth and wellbeing of our entire community.”

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) released its latest quarterly report on physician resources in Alberta for January 1, 2022, to March 31, 2022.

In the first quarter of this year, there were 276 fully registered physicians practicing in Lethbridge. This marks a decrease of 13 doctors from the previous quarter or a reduction of 4.5%.

The city has also seen a 5.8% reduction in doctors, or 17 fewer, from the same time last year.

The South Zone as a whole saw similar drops. Across the region, 31 physicians left during the last year, leaving 568 doctors remaining.

READ MORE: City committee recommends creating doctor marketing and advocacy plan

READ MORE: Eleven international doctors potentially moving to Lethbridge this year