A quickly-growing region of southern Ontario is taking action to attract new family physicians.
Ontario’s Halton Region — which includes the City of Burlington, and the towns of Halton Hills, Milton, and Oakville — has new hospitals opening, and officials say it’s a place both new and established physicians want to “put down roots.”
Halton began a physician recruitment and marketing program in 2003, which has led to 219 family physicians establishing practices in the area so far — 85 in Burlington, 65 in Oakville, 40 in Milton, and 29 in Halton Hills.
Halton officials have identified a trend in physicians choosing to set up part-time family practices — which allows them time to also work in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and smaller clinics specializing in sexual health, sports medicine, or psychotherapy.
Out of the 11 family medicine residents who graduated from the McMaster Halton Family Health Centre, five of them have stayed in Halton to open practices.
Halton is also proving itself to be a popular spot for international medical graduates. Half of the area’s family physicians that have been recruited since 2011 went to medical school outside of Canada.
The area’s need for new physicians is expected to grow over the next two years, as the population booms and existing doctors retire or reduce their hours.
H/T InsideHalton.com
