Doctor recruitment progressing well, agreements extended

By Sharon Harrison
The number of doctors now recruited by County Docs (the County’s physician recruitment and retention program) since the program began, has grown to 10 noted Adam Hambly, director of physician recruitment. That number was updated to 10 since the referenced report herein, as another physician is expected to come on board before the end of the year.

“In this primary care crisis we have been in for the last few years, I think we have shown some pretty good movements forward and improvements.”

Hambly also confirmed that anyone on the Health Care Connect (HCC) list prior to January 2025 has now been cleared, and they are now working to clear those patients who joined the list post-January 2025.

“Right now, we have almost 80 per cent of that list cleared, and was our goal for July is almost 80 per cent achieved, so we’ve had some tremendous traction with the HCC list,” Hambly confirmed.

He also noted a new change that if someone living in Prince Edward County, say the north end, but would prefer to have a doctor in Trenton or Belleville. for example, that is now an option under HCC – with Hambly confirming that originally that was not the case.

“I know how difficult it is out there Adam to be against so many other municipalities, all of whom have exactly the same needs as we do,” added mayor Steve Ferguson. “I just want to extend congratulations for everything you have done to attract the tenth doctor so far, and I know you are working away to get more of them.”

An update on the physician recruitment program was presented and approved by council at Thursday’s committee of the whole meeting, where they also approved (without any discussion) two agreements.

The first is a regional recruitment memorandum of understanding (MOU) among municipalities in the Bay of Quinte area that aligns physician recruitment practices across the region (to include the City of Belleville, the City of Quinte West, the County of Hastings and Northumberland County).

“The only change that was made to the MOU was the addition of Northumberland County, so originally we had an agreement between Belleville, Trenton and North Hastings, in addition to the County, and now we’ve included Northumberland as part of that due to some minor changes that happened with their program,” clarified Hambly.

He said Brighton was part of the Quinte West program, but is now part of the Northumberland County program instead.

Updates are proposed to reflect current participating municipalities, add termination and review provisions, and clarify how municipalities may engage with physicians who have ended a return of service (ROS) agreement with another signatory municipality and have repaid any associated incentives, stated Julianne Snepsts, programs supervisor, in her report.

“The municipality has committed up to $1,215,000 in ROS incentive funding between 2023 and 2029. This funding is sufficient to recruit approximately 13 physicians, addressing the seven retirements identified when the program began, while also filling six additional vacancies within the 23 physician PEFHO (Prince Edward Family Health Organization) roster.”

Council also approved the County Docs amending funding agreement with the Prince Edward Family Health Team (PEFHT) and PEFHO, which would extend the municipality’s commitment to fund program operations and staffing beyond Dec. 31, 2026, aligning these commitments with the existing ROS incentive funding timeline through 2029.

Staff will also establish a reserve for physician recruitment and retention to be used as a funding source for ROS incentives for physicians recruited through the County Docs program.

“The County Docs program demonstrated strong results,” noted Snepsts’ report. “To date, eight physicians have signed ROS agreements, and a ninth physician is expected to sign before the end of 2026 (now updated to 10 as above noted).

An initial investment by the County to develop and deliver the County Docs program was made with PEFHT/PEFHO for $100,000 annually for ROS incentives, and $50,000 for program delivery costs (such as marketing and administration) from 2022 to 2026.

A subsequent agreement in 2023 added $100,000 annually to fund a physician recruiter position through 2026. In 2024, council approved an amendment extending the ROS incentive funding to 2029, providing sufficient resources to fill all physician vacancies within the PEFHO roster.

“When the program began, seven local physicians were expected to retire in the near term. The program initially focused on ensuring replacement physicians were secured for those anticipated departures. It is now supporting growth in the physician roster by recruiting additional physicians to fill out remaining vacancies,” she stated.

In addition to physician recruitment, County Docs delivered a time-limited incentive program to encourage family physicians to expand their patient rosters with County residents waiting through HCC, contributing to clearing the local HCC waitlist for unattached residents.

Retention remains a significant focus of the program, accounting for approximately 40 per cent of its time and resources.

“County Docs supports both newly recruited and long-serving physicians to remain in the community,” states the report. “All physicians recruited through the program remain in Prince Edward County, and established physicians have identified County Docs retention supports as a positive factor in their decision to continue practicing locally.”

As far as budget considerations go, $166,920 is being requested for the 2027 budget year, $173,597 for 2028, and $180,541 for 2029, with no impact on the 2026 budget.

Snepsts said that although the pace of physician recruitment is difficult to predict, recruitment efforts are expected to continue over the next several years as remaining vacancies are filled and available ROS funding is utilized.

“Even as vacancies decline, retention activities will remain essential,” she said. “A large portion of County Docs resources are dedicated to retaining physicians, helping ensure physicians who establish practices in the County remain here long term.”

She said staff recommend extending funding for program operations and the recruiter position through 2029. “This will support ongoing recruitment efforts to fill the remaining vacancies while also supporting retention of physicians whose ROS commitments will expire before the end of the funding term.”

The report on the physician recruitment program update, as discussed at the July 23 committee of the whole meeting, can be found on the corresponding agenda item on the County’s website, along with the meeting recording.