Patients of Dr. Tim Troughton can breathe a sigh of relief, at least temporarily.
Dr. Stacey Hoselton will be working as a locum at Family Practice Associates Clinic from September into the spring of 2016, Marilin States told the Advance.
Hoselton will be arriving from her home in Ontario with her husband and two young children.
“Family Practice Associates will announce when she will begin to take appointments once her start date is determined,” States said.
States, who works as a recruiter of medical professionals for the Creston Valley Health Working Group, said that an increasing number of physicians are taking locum (temporary) positions before determining whether they want to relocate to a community.
“At the conferences I attend, I am getting more inquiries about the availability of locum positions,” she said. “Fortunately, our clinics are very co-operative to make that work, in conjunction with Interior Health and other agencies. These professionals are in such great demand it only makes sense that they want to ‘test drive’ a community before committing to living there.”
States credits Health Match BC, a provincial recruiting body, for the referral that led Hoselton to choose Creston as a destination.
“We work very closely together and Health Match BC has been wonderful,” she said.
The Creston recruiting program, which has won awards and now serves as a model for other communities, actively seeks out healthcare professionals, then involves local physicians and citizens in the process.
“It is vital for physicians to know how supportive and collaborative our local doctors are,” States said. “They, along with local politicians and business people, have been instrumental in our attempts to bring in new professionals.”
In the last year, the Creston Valley Health Working Group has expanded its search beyond the recruitment of physicians. States and her team are also working to attract dentists and physiotherapists to fill much needed positions.
“This is an ongoing process,” she said. “There is never really going to be a point where we could just stop. We are fortunate to have such a vibrant and beautiful community to market to professionals. Once they are here for a visit they are invariably impressed with what they find both professionally and personally.”
