For some time now, Menzies Medical Centre in Morden, while caring for the community, has also been actively working on recruitment to meet the area’s healthcare needs.
Now, according to the organization’s executive director, Nicole Walske, the concerted efforts are paying off.
A group of new faces — some from near and others from far — will soon bring their expertise and essential service to the Pembina Valley to provide care to a region that needs it.
Walske says the additions will happen quickly.
One of the physicians has even arrived already.
The process of international recruitment
For Menzies Medical Centre, a part of the successful recruitment process has been navigating the world of international recruitment.
“[This] side is all very new for me and maybe others as well, but especially for me, so to try and navigate work permits and permanent residency and credentialling has been a very steep learning curve,” says Walske.
“We want to make sure that we have support in place [for] good work-life balance so that physicians will find job satisfaction, community engagement, and hopefully be long-term contributing members of our community."
-Nicole Walske on how the successful recruitment helps other doctors and the region overall.
Even through the challenges, there has been progress.
“We're here and we have a work permit, and we've had the support and help of the City of Morden and their immigration program, so that's been instrumental in that process.”
Walske says that the city has also been helpful in providing transitional housing for the physicians as they arrive in the community.
Building relationships
Another angle of recruitment has been building relationships — Walske says that it’s not only a matter of a name and a résumé.
Physicians-in-training complete rotations through the local residency program and clinical teaching unit, during which relationships develop that can later result in placements.
Factors such as the availability of patients (something the Pembina Valley has in abundance), childcare, leisure opportunities, schools, the presence of the arts, and the community’s hospitality also influence a doctor’s decision to practice in the region.
“When they establish that they like the community, they like their colleagues, and they feel supported, they want to stay,” says Walske. “Sometimes it's years in the making.”
“We know that we need to bolster our walk-in situation, but we also want to bolster primary care so people have an attached provider and do not need the walk-in as much, so it’s kind of a balancing act.”
-Nicole Walske on managing the group of new physicians who will practice in the Pembina Valley.
Walske says that initiatives like rural week, a time in which city students experience rural care, also help with the process, as well as incentive programs such as relocation grants through Southern Health-Santé Sud and return of service grants through the Community Board of Menzies Medical Centre.
Ultimately, recruitment is a multifaceted process.
“[It’s] something that happens sometimes organically, sometimes intentionally, but obviously we've been very intentional in the last year, knowing that we have such a crisis,” says Walske.
Who is coming?
When it comes to the new physicians that have resulted from recruitment, Walske says one of the latest healthcare providers has already arrived — a pediatrician from the United Kingdom.
“He is settling and working out some final licensing,” she says, noting that the doctor is almost ready to begin practicing.
“It will be wonderful to have a pediatrician back in our facility.”
The executive director says that other family physicians have also signed on to join in the near future.
“We are going to have four family physicians between now and September, and then I have three more that are coming in the next one to two years and hopefully more,” she says.
The list of physicians who will practice in the Pembina Valley:
Dr. Chinedu Orazu, Pediatrician - June 2025Dr. Volodymyr Pimakhov - July 2025
Dr. Eze Okoli - August 2025
Dr. Tori McConnell - August 2025
Dr. Scotty Duong - September 2025
Dr. Nizar Abazid, Pediatrician - January 2026
Dr. Shady Bekhit - April 2026
Dr. Josh Sawatzky - August 2027
Amber Bezte - August 2028
The next physician to join the team is expected to arrive this summer.
“We have an assortment of physicians — one of them is originally from Ukraine and finished his training in Winnipeg,” says Walske. “He and his family will be moving here to start practicing in July, then we have a physician who is coming from Ontario, but originally from Nigeria and the United Kingdom.”
Also included in the group are two local residents trained in family medicine.
“[They] are staying on with us for sure for a year, and hopefully we can sell them to love our community,” says the executive director. “They may be familiar faces to people.”
Walske notes that while the developments are exciting for the region, it's only the beginning.
“There's always conversations happening, but we really want people to understand that this seems like a big announcement, and it is, and I'm very excited about it, but it is also a small step towards revitalizing a program that's been broken for so long," she says.
How will the additions impact healthcare?
Walske says that the new physicians coming will not only benefit Menzies Medical Centre, but also the broader community.
“The reality is that the addition of physicians to our clinic and our community isn't just for our clinic, it's for our regional center as well,” she says.
“A lot of these doctors will spend time at the hospital covering inpatient care, covering our emergency department and then also seeing patients in the clinic, so we're hopeful that this is going to help us to allow additional walk-in spots, which is a huge demand.”
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Walske says that at the same time, the new physicians will provide more community members with family doctors, which can alleviate the need for walk-in spots.
“We know that we need to bolster our walk-in situation, but we also want to bolster primary care so people have an attached provider and do not need the walk-in as much, so it’s kind of a balancing act,” she says.
The new additions will also alleviate some of the pressure on existing physicians in the area.
“We want to make sure that our providers are not burning out,” she says. “We want to make sure that we have support in place [for] good work-life balance so that physicians will find job satisfaction, community engagement, and hopefully be long-term contributing members of our community."
Sign up with Family Doctor Finder
The executive director also reminds the public that the assignment of family doctors is handled through the Family Doctor Finder, a provincial service.
It is via this portal that community members will be matched with the new physicians in the area.
“You want to ensure that you have a current listing with Family Doctor Finder — that they have your current telephone number and information,” says Walske. “As soon as the start dates are finalized for these newest physicians, patients will be assigned.”
According to Walske, while some people on the portal will receive a family doctor, there are still not enough doctors to cover everyone in the region at this point.
“We have to respect the system of Family Doctor Finder and ensure that we are triaging the needs of those who have urgent needs and or have been waiting a very long time,” she says.
Helping to continue the trend
Although the ball has begun to roll with physician recruitment in the Pembina Valley, the community can always help the process, says Walske.
“I think the best thing that our community can do is welcome our learners,” she says.
“Our clinical teaching unit is probably the best recruitment tool we have. We see five residents come through for family medicine each year, so we get to have those five in our communities, Morden and Winkler, for their two-year training, and they need the opportunity to see patients.”
Walske says that she understands that some people prefer not to have learners in the room during appointments, but for her, it's "an opportunity lost."
“We really just want people to build connections and maybe share with that resident or learner why they love Morden and help them fall in love with it as well,” she says.
To further support Menzies Medical Centre and the care it provides to the community, attend its by-donation barbecue lunch this afternoon.
With files from Connie Bailey