Stettler County, town join forces to offer financial incentives to address critical doctor shortage
Only 8 doctors serving the county and surrounding rural communities as of November
Both the Town of Stettler and Stettler County are ramping up efforts to attract medical professionals as the county grapples with a severe physician shortage that has left the central Alberta community in a health-care crisis.
Since November, Stettler has seen a sharp decline in its physician numbers, dropping from 12 doctors to just eight, serving a population of 5,752 as of 2022.
The situation is poised to worsen as the community's only anesthesiologist prepares to leave the position to Red Deer in September.
Mayor Sean Nolls said the county and town are considering incentives to help recruit doctors.
"We're looking at a compensation package that works for doctors," he said. "That could involve housing, that could involve alleviating some of the costs of the clinics.… that could also include a bonus as well."
Nolls said they have not decided on an exact amount yet but will discuss it with doctors they are recruiting about their needs and will go from there.
He said the town is also looking into red tape reduction, specifically asking the province to reduce the assessment period for doctors.
"If we were recruiting only internationally … we could hire those six, eight doctors and they wouldn't be here for two years. And that's not very helpful," he said.
The province has an extensive process for foreign medical graduates. It includes a practice-readiness assessment and several other steps that include a review of their qualifications, completing any required exams, securing sponsorship for a position to work in Alberta, and submitting any supporting documents.
"This entire process can take anywhere from 10 months to three years, depending on each physician's individual circumstances," Melissa Campbell, senior communications adviser for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta wrote in an email. She said they have been working on several initiatives over the past few years to support the province's recruitment efforts.
She pointed to the accelerated Practice Readiness Assessment from six months to three months and the expansion of the sponsorship model from AHS alone to any individual, organization or corporation.
Before November, Stettler had 12 doctors that practised either out of their clinics or at the Stettler Hospital and Care Centre, according to the county.
After a number of them left, the town was left with eight doctors, six of whom are emergency physicians, according to Alberta Health Services.
The issue of shortage of doctors in the province is not new. In December 2023, the emergency department in the village of Boyle, Alta., located approximately 160 kilometres north of Edmonton, had to shut down for multiple days due to lack of doctors.
Domino effect
Nolls said lack of doctors has had a domino effect that has worsened the health-care system.
"If you can't get in to see your local doctor, you go to the emergency room. And if you don't have enough doctors to cover an emergency, the emergency shuts down," he said.
According to Stettler County, the ER closed four times as of June 5 — sometimes for nine hours, other times for an entire 24 hours. The county has also gone anywhere between a week to two weeks without any obstetrical services.
Nolls said when the emergency department shuts down or they have to divert obstetrics, those people are forced to go to Red Deer. This also affects the ambulance system since the ambulances have to take those patients outside of town to be treated. With no ambulances, the town is now forced to call in STARS, which adds to the cost of health-care.
"They just kind of fall into one another and that itself creates a crisis," he said.
Larry Clark, reeve of Stettler County, said the departure of the town's only anesthesiologist will halt critical services — such as C-sections — not only for Stettler, but also pose a challenge for surrounding rural communities.
"We serve a lot of the east country, when you go into the three C's: the Consort, Castor and Coronations," Clarke told CBC's Edmonton AM on Tuesday.
"When it came to labour and delivery, they did utilize Stettler."
In a statement Alberta Health Services said there will be two more doctors joining the county soon, including one with obstetric and surgical training.
"Six additional positions are being short-listed, aiming for a total of 16 physicians to support the Stettler [emergency department]," Gayleen Froese, senior communications adviser with AHS wrote in an email.
Nolls said he will only believe it when he sees doctors in Stettler, seeing patients.
"I won't breathe a little easier until I see them here," he said.
The cost of the incentives to recruit doctors will be borne by the town and county, Nolls said.
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With files from Ariel Fournier