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The Town of Strathmore is offering grants to doctors around the globe to help attract physicians to the community.
According to the Alberta Medical Association, upwards of 650,000 Albertans are looking for a family doctor. The organization said this makes chronic conditions difficult to manage, which leads to people resorting to emergency rooms for lab work and prescriptions.
In an interview with StrathmoreNow, Mayor Pat Fule spoke about the town's Physician Sponsorship Program.
"Strathmore is no different than any other community in Alberta and across Canada who are struggling to try to attract and retain doctors," said Fule. "Our population is an aging population, so it's really important that we have physicians available."
The program will help fund local clinics through a grant system, with three grants available. The grants reach a total of around $90,000, with one of them already being awarded.
"It's open to all of the clinics in town," added Fule. "We think it's a great way to cut the costs for a clinic to attract an international doctor."
The details of the grant include the physician needing to work in Strathmore for six years, with the doctor needing to pay back the grant if they leave before their term ends.
"Our perfect situation is that in three years we have three new doctors, and if the program is successful, I'm sure council will be willing to consider it and decide on what they want to do," added Fule.
According to Primary Care Networks (PCN), only one clinic in Strathmore is accepting new patients - the PCN clinic on Second Street.
