Members of Estevan city council received an update on healthcare in the community during the Feb. 22 meeting.
Hospital CEO Greg Hoffort, hospital foundation executive director Breanne Van De Woestyne and financial employee Lori Gervais spoke to council about the support the hospital receives from the community and the ongoing efforts to recruit physicians.
Hoffort told council their purpose was to answer questions.
Councillor Shelly Veroba said she has spent four years on the St. Joseph’s Hospital board, and has seen first-hand the hard work that has gone into the facility.
“Anyone that has gone into other hospitals can see that Estevan, in the last five to 10 years, has done great things in that hospital, right from the helipad to the addictions centre,” said Veroba.
Councillor Lindsay Clark wanted an update on staffing. Hoffort said recruitment is an ongoing issue but retention is the bigger problem.
“Getting them to come here is not quite as hard as getting physicians to stay. Truthfully, there are more jobs than there are physicians in our country right now,” Hoffort said.
There are a lot of opportunities for young physicians now, and they don’t stay in a community for their entire career like they used to.
“We need to continue to work to figure out what is going to increase that longevity,” said Hoffort.
A lot of doctors who have left Estevan enjoyed their time here and are part of the recruiting network for St. Joe’s. Dr. Victor Temenu, the new obstetrician-gynecologist now practising in Estevan, came here after a referral from a former obstetrician in Estevan who now resides in the Toronto area.
Estevan has 11 family physicians and two specialists, but Hoffort said they would like a few more, because people can’t get an appointment to see a medical doctor.
Specialists are important. They now have one permanent obstetrician-gynecologist in Temenu who is here full-time, and is supported by a pool of locum specialists. A couple of them have practised here in the past and enjoy the community.
“We need another permanent person in the obstetrics line,” said Hoffort.
The hospital would also like one or two physicians with anesthesiologist skills. They have a dedicated person here, Dr. Andrey Babkis, who covers the hospital for lengthy periods of time.
“We’ve managed to stay virtually gap-free for the past couple of years on that, but we are in discussion with some folks with those credentials. There is no stone left unturned,” said Hoffort.
Councillor Kirsten Walliser said a lot of patients and community members talk about the problem with having a new family doctor every two years, which brings anxiety for patients because they’re concerned something might get missed.
She wanted more information in Van De Woestyne’s report on physician retention. Seven physicians were listed.
“We have a purposeful recruiting with regards to the physicians that may latch onto and love the community of Estevan. That would be the ultimate goal. The challenge is finding those folks. The challenge is there’s an opportunity for them right across the country.”
Local kids who have gone onto become physicians aren’t always returning here, either, he said.
The hospital is open to advice and support from the community when it comes to retention.
Councillor Rebecca Foord wanted to know if the physicians who stay are experiencing burnout. Hoffort responded that this is an issue for all healthcare professionals and not just physicians.
In the case of anesthesiologists, allowing for work-life balance is important, but Estevan’s not big enough to support three.
“It’s an issue, it’s an issue in healthcare, it’s an issue in physician recruitment – we’re a community that’s large enough to need all of these services, but not quite big enough to have the miracle solution to sustain them all.”
If the workload is too much, they’ll go somewhere else. But if there isn’t enough work, they’ll leave.
Foord also wanted to know if technology being employed during the pandemic would ease some of the workload for the physicians.
“It’s going to be a transition and likely a long one,” said Hoffort. “I’m not sure if the general public is completely buying into the virtual (appointments), and they still want to see the doctor face to face.”
Councillor Travis Frank asked if St. Joe’s is still losing physicians to other hospitals in the province, or if having one health authority for Saskatchewan has mediated that issue.
“At one time … we were either competing to win a physician for our hospital against other Saskatchewan hospitals, or losing them, which almost seems redundant,” Hoffort said.
Estevan took doctors that were destined for other places, and other communities snatched doctors supposed to come to this city.
Now there is more of a collective approach to physicians in Saskatchewan.
Van De Woestyne said the support from council and the city is vital for the organization.
When asked by Councillor Tony Sernick about projects, Van De Woestyne said the addictions treatment and recovery centre opening was the big project for 2020, and it reflects support from the community.
The big project for this year is a renovation of the chemotherapy and pharmacy departments that will be between $200,000 and $300,000.
“A big part of our hospital is being able to have those services in chemotherapy here at home,” said Van De Woestyne.
St. Joseph’s is now 30 years old, so there’s always something in need of support.
Hoffort added that most people likely realize the government funds the operations of the hospital, and offers a little bit of funding for equipment and different initiatives, but the hospital foundation is tasked with funding most of the equipment purchases.
“We have an inventory of equipment worth approximately $10 million at St. Joseph’s Hospital that expires on a regular basis, and there are at any given year many projects going on,” said Hoffort. “And so that generosity truly allows the good work that goes on at the hospital to happen.”
