Kincardine considers going it alone on doctor recruitment

Kincardine council is planning to discontinue the physician recruitment agreement with Bruce Power and Saugeen Shores, and go it alone to bring doctors to the Kincardine hospital and Hawthorne Community Clinic (Kincardine medical clinic).

In committee-of-the-whole Monday night (Dec. 14), chief administrative officer Sharon Chambers presented the report from the ad hoc committee, set up in November to review the agreement and look at other options for physician recruitment.

She noted that Bruce Power has requested a three-year extension of the current agreement which expires Dec. 31. The current physician recruiter, Peggy Zeppieri, is also retiring at that time, and Bruce Power wants to begin the process to hire a new person for that job as soon as possible.

Chambers said the ad hoc committee met with the Kincardine Physicians Group to get feedback on the physician recruitment program and a path forward for filling the vacant physician recruiter position. At the Nov. 17 meeting with the doctors group, council was represented by deputy mayor Randy Roppel, and councillors Maureen Couture and Doug Kennedy, while the physicians were represented by Drs. Gary Gurbin, Lisa Scott and Angela Cavanagh, and Gerry Glover as chief executive officer of the family health team.

“Based on the feedback obtained, the ad hoc committee is recommending that the municipality endorse the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bruce Power and Saugeen Shores, and develop an agreement with the Hawthorne Community Clinic to partially fund a joint physician recruiter and medical clinic manager position," said Chambers.

She said the physicians group outlined several pressures facing the practice and opportunities to improve the current doctor recruitment program.

Among these are the following:
 

• Over the past few years, physicians who are recruited replace a physician who is relocating or retiring
• Within the municipality, there remain a significant number of residents who do not have access to a regular family practitioner and would be considered “orphaned” patients; many of these residents travel out of town to walk-in clinics or wait extended periods in the emergency room to be seen for conditions that are not of an urgent or emergent condition
• An increase and anticipated further influx of residents to the area due to operations at Bruce Power; the physicians group currently has a roster of more than 14,000 patients, with an authorized complement of 13 physicians; the clinic is running over its patient capacity

The physicians group recommends the following:
 

• Hire a joint physician recruiter and clinic manager
• As of Jan. 1, 2021, the municipality re-direct its existing $40,000 contribution to the Kincardine Family Health Organization, with the physicians group contributing an equal amount of $40,000 to the proposed model
• The municipality request Bruce Power contribute $20,000 - half of its existing contribution - to the combined program, which would be used to offset travel, marketing, and other physician recruitment expenses
• The municipality remain responsible for the incentive packages and management of locum houses
• The ad hoc committee remain in place to develop the framework for the physician recruitment program, as well as reviewing other aspects of the municipality’s health-care-related spending

Chambers said that historically, the physician recruiter position has not been well-defined in terms of accountability, communication, performance, and scope. Though there has been success, to date, in recruitment, there remain gaps in the current program which should be considered. The annual cost of the program is $120,000 which is shared equally among Bruce Power, Kincardine, and Saugeen Shores.

“Preliminary discussions with Bruce Power suggest that the company would still support Kincardine in a sole venture for physician recruitment in the usual amount of $20,000,” stated Chambers in her report. “There is still an advantage to maintaining a regional focus on health-care-related matters. It is recommended that the partnership with Saugeen Shores and Bruce Power be approved.”

Mayor Anne Eadie said council should consider carefully whether it wants to jeopardize the relationship with Bruce Power regarding physician recruitment.

She said she received a letter from James Scongack, executive vice-president of corporate affairs and operational services at Bruce Power, requesting that council defer any decision until he and John Peevers, Bruce Power's director of community and media relations, and economic development, can discuss the physician recruiter program with the municipality.

In his letter, Scongack said the joint program has been a success over the past 10 years, bringing doctors to both Kincardine and Saugeen Shores, through a unified approach and the use of a full-time recruiter. He stated that Kincardine could count on Bruce Power for ongoing funding if this program continues.

However, he noted that the reverse is also the case, stating that if Kincardine were to back away from this successful partnership, it would be difficult to fund individual municipalities.

Eadie put forward the motion to defer until council can meet with Scongack and Peevers.

This brought argument from members of council.

Councillor Bill Stewart said the agreement has not worked well for Kincardine

Councillor Laura Haight disagreed. “I’m fine to defer this motion. I’d like to hear from James (Scongack) and John (Peevers), but I also want to hear from the ad hoc committee."

Couture said the ad hoc committee felt that Kincardine was not getting enough attention through the current physician recruiter agreement, so the municipality and Saugeen Shores should go their separate ways and take over their own physician recruitment.

She said the physicians group will pay $40,000 and the municipality will pay $40,000 which will covers the $80,000 in wages and benefits for the recruiter/clinic manager position.

Chambers said the $20,000 from Bruce Power would be required to cover the operating budget for the joint position.

“This program has recruited 28 doctors since 2010,” said Kennedy, “but how many went to Kincardine and how many to Saugeen Shores? We’re not full but Saugeen Shores is.”

“I think we’re pretty well even,” said Eadie.

“I’d like to hear from Bruce Power before we finalize anything,” said Haight.

Committee-of-the-whole agreed to accept the report from the ad hoc committee as a path forward, with Bruce Power and the Kincardine Physicians Group invited to a future meeting to receive feedback about this proposal. Glover abstained.

That was later endorsed by council, with Glover again abstaining.