COCHRANE— The future of public health care was front and centre at Monday's (June 28) Cochrane Council meeting.
Darren Caines, Executive Director of the Calgary Foothills Primary Care Network, appeared before council as a delegation providing insights into health care in Cochrane and the future of physician recruitment in the community.
"I know this community has really struggled with physician recruitment," Caines said
He cautioned, that while the Primary Care Network does not strictly practice physician recruitment there were some insights available to understand how the Town could attempt to attract and keep doctors.
Several factors can impact physicians' recruitment and retention in the area— Including the lack of a hospital for family practitioners to work in, collaborating with universities to understand what doctors are looking for in a community and the potential of working with Alberta Health Services to entice doctors to the area to set up practices.
It will take a strong community effort to recruit and keep doctors in Cochrane, he said, adding the Primary Care Network is willing to work with the Town to ensure Cochrane has proper health care coverage.
The Alberta Primary Care Network launched around 2006 centred on the idea of creating "patient medical homes," Caines said, a philosophy of building a team of health care professionals who work alongside doctors and patients to provide the best care possible. Under this model, the provincial government funds the Primary Care Network to provide a team of health professionals, with doctors helping cover the cost of running the facility.
"It is a space where the physicians and the team of health care professionals work out of that is run by the Primary Care Network," Caines said. "Our role is not physician recruitment ... There are 516 member doctors, our job is to provide them with teams. Not to recruit or retain physicians."
The goal of the Primary Care Network is to help new doctors get established in health care and build their practice as they graduate from medical school.
The model of running these facilities worked well until the COVID-19 pandemic. Several factors affected the business, rendering the model no longer financially viable in Cochrane.
"Revenue started to decrease or physicians started to give notice they were leaving the practice," Caines said.
The Cochrane Primary Care Network carefully explored the financial future of the organization, he said, but when 50 per cent of the physicians gave notice they were leaving the space the difficult decision to close was made.
"We were left with very little choice," he said.
Currently, three physicians remain at the centre and current Primary Care staff will be moving to other parts of the organization.
The three doctors remaining at Cochrane Primary Care after July 1 will have until January 2022 to find a new location. To date, seven doctors have left the clinic, including a physician taking maternity leave.
The current lease for the facility expires in January 2024.
Caines said based on physicians leaving on July 1 around 4,000 patients will be impacted. He cautioned some of these doctors are maintaining or joining family clinics and families will be able to transition. The exact numbers of displaced patients remain unclear.
Caines said the Primary Care Network has spoken with Alberta Health Services to better understand how the organization is working to recruit doctors to Cochrane.
Alberta Health Services indicated they have an international sponsorship program and are working doctors can recruit to the community. He said around five have been recruited to date, and seven have been put forward to Alberta Health Services and have been wait listed.
Caines added Primary Care Network and doctor clinics will remain available for Cochrane residents in Calgary, including in the 39 clinics in the northwest sector of the city.
He also recommended using the website Alberta Find a Doctor to locate a physician.
As a member of the Seniors Advisory Committee Coun. Susan Flowers spoke with the Primary Care Network primary to Monday's council meeting.
While she appreciates the availability of doctors in Calgary, she cautioned many seniors and families are concerned with having to drive to the city for care.
Mayor Jeff Genung said the Town has been working with Alberta Health Services and Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie to better understand doctor recruitment in Cochrane and how many physicians are needed to provide full coverage to the community. He added a survey has been provided to doctors to understand what they are looking for in a community.
"We have been doing some work behind the scenes," Genung said. "We want to provide what we can as a municipality for a place for doctors to want to come and set up a residency."
Councillor Marni Fedeyko said she is one of the patients affected by the closing of the Cochrane Primary Network.
As a community with many young families and seniors doctor recruitment is essential, Fedeyko said. She added the loss of doctors at the clinic has created a major void in the community.
Like Fedeyko, Coun. Tara McFadden said her family has also been affected by the Primary Care Network closure.
She appreciated the insights provided by Caines and his ability to provide insights into the business model for clinics. These insights can help the Town better understand how to recruit doctors to Cochrane.
In the end, she said, the focus needs to remain on the impact of the doctors leaving Cochrane.
"We want a family doctor we can get our sick kid to quickly," McFadden said.
