Physicians looking at Stettler as a viable community to move to will now have a financial incentive to do so.
Stettler County council unanimously voted in favour of adopting a program which would see it and the town contribute 50 per cent towards a signing bonus.
The new program, voted on at the July 10 council meeting, is a departure from the county's previous program, which provided up to $20,000 in discretionary support for doctors coming to the community.
"That doesn't give physicians a terrible amount of security," said Andrew Brysiuk, who presented the new program for council.
Under the new program, eligible physicians coming to the region will be offered a $50-70,000 signing bonus split equally between the two municipalities.
The amount offered would depend on what skills the physician brings to the community; for example, a general practitioner and anesthesiologist able to offer child delivery will be offered the full $70,000, whereas a physician not offering child delivery will be offered the $50,000.
"The availability of doctors within the community has reached crisis levels," notes the request for council decision (RCD).
It further notes that for a community the size of Stettler and its area, there should be 14 doctors, but this number will soon be down to seven.
The RCD also notes that of 10 shift-rotations at the Stettler Hospital and Care Centre, only seven are currently filled, leaving the province needing to fill in the other three with locum coverage, if available.
"We are in crisis. We did the legwork, let's get those doctors here," said Reeve Larry Clarke.
In order for the physicians to be eligible for the incentive, they need to agree to both cover shifts at the Stettler Hospital emergency department and commit to five years in the community.
If the physician were to leave before the five years, they would be required to pay back a pro-rated amount.
The program, as written, is only in effect until Dec. 31, 2024.
According to Andrew Brysiuk, the Stettler County director of Municipal Services, notes that the "sunset clause" in the new program is designed that way so that council can review and make changes to it before it is extended.
With the program approved by the county, it will next be seen by Stettler's town council during its July 16 meeting for approval.
