(Yarmouth Regional Hospital-Y95 News photo)
The Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce (YACC) will actually undertake two major initiatives.
The first addresses the shortage of anesthesiologists at the Yarmouth Regional Hospital.
Elective surgeries are on hold and and some expectant mothers are travelling to other hospitals.
YACC president Angie Greene says they’ll be sending a delegation to Calgary later this month to the annual meeting of the Canadian Anesthesiologists Society.
“We’re the only community that has its own booth, I believe. The Nova Scotia Health Authority will be there but we thought it was important that Yarmouth was represented. We’re bringing our ‘A’ game, We’re bringing an anesthesiologist who used to practice in the Yarmouth area. We’re also bringing a door prize I guess you could call it. We’ll be collecting emails from anesthesiologists and we have a donation from two local businesses so we’re going to have a prize that will give a monthly package of lobsters to the winners. ”
Greene hopes that garners a lot of interest in their booth and shows what a friendly and welcoming place Yarmouth is.
The second initiative requires help from local municipal governments.
Greene says the YACC is seeking funding for a Community Navigator, a full-time position of the Chamber that would focus solely on recruiting and retaining physicians for the Yarmouth area. it would be a three-year project.
“The trouble isn’t getting people to the Yarmouth area, it’s making that connection with them and going out and actively giving them the information they need to get them here. Yarmouth is an attractive area to practice in. When many doctors first come here they tells us it’s a very friendly place and secondly we have beautiful real estate here. Regardless of what we hear about the tax situation and salary levels, we still have the ability to attract doctors here.”
She says they’ll be making presentation to the local councils which she stresses have been very helpful and supportive and have often given the YACC more support then they have asked for. She says the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation has also been approached.
“We’re just hopeful the province will come through on our ask from them. It’s been a little bit of an issue trying to get confirmation that they’re in on this with us.”
She says the missing link is to actively get out and show them our community.
“Tell them that we need them, make it easy to get here, and connect into the community. And following our youth through the medical school system and bringing them back.”
Greene says the other role of the Community Navigator would be to retain retain the doctors we have have now.
