YARMOUTH, N.S. — Some great news was delivered during the Oct. 24 Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce business award ceremony at the Mariners Centre.
One of the biggest barriers to recruiting doctors to the region has been housing. Those who attended the award ceremony (and there were 300 tickets sold) were told a house has been purchased and donated by Coastal Financial Credit Union to help to alleviate the housing barrier.
Housing is seen as a barrier because many potential doctors for the area find themselves in a position where they still have to pay rent or mortgages for homes in former locations until those properties are sold or re-rented.
A free place to live while working in Yarmouth is a big draw.
Rick Doucette – CAO of the Coastal Financial Credit Union – told award ceremony guests that the doctor recruitment drive was a tremendous opportunity for community members and business leaders to collaborate and shape the future of this area and to be part of something really big.
“Success doesn’t rest on the shoulders of one person, one committee or one organization, it really takes a community effort,” he said.
“As part of our contribution to the community, we purchased 30 Vancouver St., and we are going to be essentially donating that house for the purposes of doctor recruitment," Doucette said.
While at the event at the Mariners Centre, he encouraged other businesses to contribute in some way towards required renovations. By the end of the evening, donations in-kind were pouring in: a free kitchen design, an offer to fill the fridge, free paint, an electrical upgrade, landscaping and much more.
Angie Greene, president of the Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce, said the news was equivalent to a half-a-million-dollar donation.
“We’re going to have three units for resident doctors to live there and there’s also going to be one unit with three bedrooms and a common living area for medical students that are here temporarily. This is going to make a huge difference.”
DOCTOR UPDATE
During the evening event, Rebecca Cassidy-Rose, the Community Navigator for Physician Recruitment and Retention, provided an update. The community navigator position was created this year by the Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce.
Rose said the health workforce here now has two new full-time anesthesiologists, with two more going through the qualification process to work in Yarmouth.
“As a result, we could be at full complement in the next three months,” said Cassidy-Rose. A decline in the number of anesthesiologists has been an issue the Nova Scotia Health Authority has been dealing with at the Yarmouth Regional Hospital since the spring.
There are also two family medicine residents that have completed their education here and have decided to stay in Yarmouth, said Cassidy-Rose, who also said another resident will be graduating soon. She said they are having positive discussions with this person.
She added that as a result of a community site visit on Oct. 8, a doctor and his family are moving to this area.
“These are all family medicine physicians who understand all the beauty and support our community has to offer,” she said.
Earlier this year, the Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce proposed the hiring of a community navigator to “prominently position Yarmouth County on a provincial level," and “through community-supported efforts, make it the most advertised, most accessible and most attractive area of the province to practise in.”
The three-year position, which the chamber hopes will be an inspiration for other municipal units in the province, is being funded through a partnership of municipal units, the province, businesses and non-profit associations.
More contributions required
Many more donations are required for the doctor recruitment and retention initiative, including items and labour related to renovation work for the recent building donation.
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