HARRISTON – Ground was broken here on May 5 for a 1,150-square-foot addition to the Harriston Lions Community Medical Centre.
The expanded facility, which currently houses a dental practice and a chiropractor, will provide space to accommodate two physicians, a reception area and nursing station as well as waiting, procedure and exam rooms.
Originally established through the Harriston Lions Community Medical Centre Corporation in 1978, the clinic has been operated by the Minto Municipal Services Corporation (MMSC) since 2015.
The MMSC board is financing the addition, expected to cost around $550,000, with the backing of the Town of Minto.
Mayor George Bridge, also president of the MMSC, said the expansion was inspired by the need to attract medical professionals
“I think it was about a year or so back that we had this discussion about needing a doctor … So we started this process and we went to through the corporation,” said Bridge.
“We have this building thanks to the Lions Club years ago in the 70s … and they built it because – guess what? – they needed to attract doctors. So it hasn’t changed a lot in all those years.”
“I really just want to express our thanks to the town for supporting recruitment efforts for healthcare human resources,” said Angela Stanley, president of the Wellington Health Care Alliance (WHCA), which includes North Wellington Health Care hospitals in Palmerston and Mount Forest as well as Groves Memorial Community Hospital in Fergus.
Stanley pointed out facilities like the medical centre are key assets in local medical professional recruitment efforts.
“So we really just want to say thank you for the efforts. Thank you for making our jobs a little bit easier,” she said.
Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team executive director Shirley Borges, who chairs the local medical professional recruitment committee, and WHCA communications manager Alison Armstrong, who also works on recruitment, were among those on hand for the ground breaking.
“Our communities are growing a lot, as you can see as you’re coming in and out, and we all recognize the need to recruit a number of health care professionals to our communities,” said Borges.
“It will be really exciting for Alison and I and the rest of us to show our new physician candidates a new modern accessible building, and it puts us a step ahead, I think, of other communities that just have pictures (of proposed facilities) or are not quite sure where the physicians will be working.”
Borges noted the new facility will be equipped to facilitate telemedicine.
“We’re really excited about that, because we hope that our new providers will embrace telemedicine,” she stated.
Armstrong said, “There is a toolbox of items we need to recruit people to our community, other than it being a wonderful community.
“It is medical space, it is our team … There’s so many wonderful things that we have in terms of our location for grants for healthcare professional, the many hats that our staff wear; they work a variety of roles, which is exciting for any healthcare professional, which is very different than our urban counterparts, and just the team and the community feel that you get when you come to our smaller rural communities makes all the difference.
“So having the space just adds to that toolbox of things we can offer people to come here, so we’re pretty excited.”
Borges told the Advertiser the recruitment committee is working to replace one current physician and cover future needs as well.
“One physician is leaving Minto-Mapleton at the end of June … that’ll bring us to eight physicians,” she explained.
“But the fact that our communities are … we need to recruit at least another physician, at least. And we built a building with a little bit of future foresight … maybe two providers together working together would make good sense.”
Armstrong added, “Whenever there’s a physician that leaves, it usually takes two new graduates to replace that physician, because it takes time to build a practice and to get to know the patients.
“So normally, it’s very difficult to do a one-to-one transfer.”
Armstrong said an upcoming familiarization tour for medical students from McMaster University in Hamilton is among the recruitment activities currently planned.
“We’re bringing residents from McMaster to Minto-Mapleton to show them around, show the facilities and talk about the opportunities,” she said.
“So there are lots of different things we’re working on right now to hopefully attract physicians into the community.”
Although the area will soon be down one doctor, Borges said plans are in place to cover all current patients.
“The people that aren’t covered are new residents. So as new residents arrive, and they are calling our offices, our physicians, and our nurse practitioners are at capacity. So that’s an issue,” Borges noted.
“If you want to build healthy communities and support growth, you also need to be able to provide medical and health services. So we’re proactive in that way.”
