COCHRANE— The Calgary Foothills Primary Care Network announced on Friday (April 23) the Cochrane Primary Care Centre will close by January 2022, citing “the changing environment, including the pandemic,” and the departure of 50 per cent of the doctors at the clinic as the reasons for the closure.
“It was an extremely difficult decision for the Primary Care Network to make,” said Dr. Janet Reynolds, family physician and medical director of the Calgary Foothills Primary Care Network. “It was … a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact that has had on community practice as well as 50 per cent of the doctors leaving, and it’s kind of in the last two months that that has happened.”
Reynolds said during the pandemic people have been foregoing care and doctors’ visits, and because the industry is a fee-for-service model, no patients mean no earnings, and virtual care has been unable to fill that gap.
The reasons doctors have left the Cochrane Primary Care Centre have been moving locations, retirement, a change in their practice and personal decisions, Reynolds said.
“Unfortunately, I think that the closest doctors taking new patients other than the one physician in Cochrane are in the northwest of Calgary. I know that’s not ideal for all of the people that live in Cochrane and the area, but I know there are at least 40 physicians in the far northwest taking patients,” she said. “I really encourage patients to start looking for family physicians because the relationship with the family physician is really critical for long-term health outcomes.”
The actual closing date of the Centre is up in the air and is largely dependent on the physicians who remain in the Centre, and how long it takes them to make arrangements to transition to alternate locations.
Reynolds said the Calgary Foothills Primary Care Network will help facilitate those moves as best it can.
“It’s a sad day for the community,” Reynolds said.
As a non-profit organization, Reynolds said, the Primary Care Network is not eligible for any of the federal or provincial subsidies that aid small businesses during COVID-19.
Dr. Jennifer Corrales, a physician with the Cochrane Primary Care Centre penned an open letter that was published online, citing her reasons for leaving as solely political.
“My decision to leave this practice has not been easy. I am Alberta born, raised and trained, and did not imagine leaving before the election two years ago. However, almost solely due to the policies, hostilities and destabilization of primary care by the UCP, I have decided to explore opportunities in other provinces and abroad. When I am away, I will be able to care for patients and perform the job I love without simultaneously fighting the government or watching the destruction of front-line patient care,” Corrales wrote. “It has been an absolute pleasure to serve you and to have had the privilege to be part of this community over the past nine years.”
In response to the closure of the Cochrane Primary Care Centre, MLA Peter Guthrie issued a public statement.
“In the midst of a global pandemic, it is important that we, as a community, look at our services, especially to our healthcare, and to work to make it the most efficient and effective we can to that we can ensure doctors remain in our community long-term— Especially at a time when budgets, debt and deficits are troubling,” he wrote.
Guthrie wrote that the UCP has been working hard on a number of initiatives to attract doctors to smaller, rural centres, which has long been an issue in Alberta.
“While the decision of these physicians to move away from Cochrane is unfortunate— A jurisdiction with lowest taxes, a strong customer base and very reasonable property tax rates— It is simply another blow to a small centre during a trying time. While I am disappointed, I will not stop working to ensure our town has the best healthcare that we can provide.”
Guthrie’s statement continued on to say that he is committed to working with the Minister of Health and the Town of Cochrane to initiate a recruiting program to attract physicians to the community.
Guthrie was contacted by The Cochrane Eagle but declined to comment any further on the matter.
Dr. Paul Boucher, president of the Alberta Medical Association provided a statement to The Cochrane Eagle.
“Because I haven’t spoken with the local physicians or the Primary Care Network, I don’t have any information other than what I have read in the media coverage. I am sure this has been a difficult decision for everyone concerned and the Primary Care Network and the clinic will be taking all steps they can to look after the patients affected. The AMA will provide any support we can to the PCN in its planning for the months ahead.”
