By Sebastian Kanally, Times Chronicle
Oliver is establishing a group to support recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in the town.
During their Feb. 20 meeting, council approved establishing the Oliver Local Physician and Retention Working Group and to begin recruitment for the group.
The town has no jurisdiction to actually recruit physicians and healthcare professionals, but they can play a strong role in coordinating a community effort to recruit and most importantly retain healthcare professionals.
This kind of support is still in the planning phases but could take the form of coordinating spaces and conversations about common opportunities in the town, having social planning services, and taking a comprehensive approach to showcasing why Oliver is a good place to work according to a report to council.
Adam Goodwin, the town’s social coordinator said that “the municipality can play a really strong role in bringing the right folks to the table and help coordinate in the community”.
Goodwin’s report notes that this effort “follows the decisions of other municipalities rolling up their sleeves to directly support an area of provincial government responsibility.”
Although it was noted the Interior Health Authority and province have departments specifically for local physician recruitment and therefore local governments cannot undertake that job, they can support in other ways.
Goodwin’s report draws on the examples of Sicamous, Campbell River, Quesnel, and Creston, who have all started various groups and initiatives similar to Oliver’s plan related to healthcare recruitment.
The next step for the town is drafting a working group application process and opening up applications until the end of the first quarter of 2024. The town will also host a public information session in March or April 2024 at the South Okanagan General Hospital (SOGH) to enable Oliver residents to learn more about the working group.
The membership of the working group will include:
• One local childcare operator;
• One member of the Interior Health Authority’s human resources team;
• At least one member of the Interior Health Authority’s clinical operations team;
• At least one member of the Division of Family Practices;
• At least one individual that self-identifies as Indigenous;
• At least one member from the Town of Oliver;
• At least three members of the public with direct knowledge of the group’s mandate.
Council was very enthusiastic that this initiative was back on the agenda after last year’s presentation to council on Oct. 3, on an opportunity to support medical residents.
These efforts and conversations come after staffing shortages have been an ongoing issue for some time at the SOGH, resulting in continual temporary closures of the emergency department.
During the meeting, it was noted that Councillor Petra Veintimilla and Mayor Martin Johansen expressed interest in being a part of the working group.
