Yet another rural community in Atlantic Canada is answering their local doctor shortage with a unique solution. Plaster Rock, NB has advertised the gift of land – suitable for building a home – to doctors willing to service their village.
On July 7, 2008, Gander, Newfoundland announced that 2,000 residents in their rural community would soon be contacted as winners in a recent 'patient lottery' for two new GPs that will soon be opening local practices (reported
here).
Plaster Rock, New Brunswick has found it's own way of solving the same dilemma.
Last month, The River Valley Hospital Corp. (RVHC)
closed both emergency and in-patient services located in this small (2006 pop.: 1000+) village. Three of only four doctors had moved from the area—leaving it without the minimum personnel to cover these services. Although certain diagnostic procedures, e.g., x-ray, blood analysis, physiotherapy, continue to be offered, the residents are now forced to travel at least 40 km for any other services.
Travel is often an issue for small rural NB communities, as there is little public transit available to them and ambulance services have been centralized to larger urban centres. The local mayor has decided to answer the needs of her village by resurrecting an age-old tradition for NB.
"The village is offering a building lot to any doctor that would like to build a home in Plaster Rock,"
said Mayor Judy St. Peter. She has reported that they have already successfully recruited one new physician, others have expressed interest, and they hope to have a third doctor by the end of this summer. It may seem an odd solution, but it is still practiced in similar communities such as
Fredericton Junction, NB (located 40 km south of Fredericton), which offers a free home to physicians willing to do the same.
Meanwhile, the RVHC maintains that three doctors are insufficient to re-establish full services in Plaster Rock. Hopefully, the mayor will be able to recruit the requisite number to maintain adequate care for the residents. As one resident said, "I feel I wouldn't have been here today if we hadn't had emergency [services]."
With continued funding restraints, hemorrhaging of physicians, and centralization of these services, how long will it be until larger communities are forced to offer similar enticements to ensure quality health care for New Brunswick residents?
Small NB Community Offers Free Land to Doctor(s) Willing to Relocate to the Area
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