Doctor Recruitment Program Receives Award

The Town of Bonnyville, MD of Bonnyville and The Health Foundation has received the prestigious 2015 RPAP Alberta Rural Community Physician Attraction and Retention Award for the Doctor Recruitment Program. The award stems from the Alberta Rural Physicians Action Plan (RPAP), which according to RPAP’s website, supports Alberta’s rural practitioners, their families and communities in improving the quality of rural health care by offering comprehensive, integrated initiatives to enhance rural medical services, education, attraction, recruitment, and retention.

Mayor of Bonnyville Gene Sobolewski says the community should is honoured in receiving this award, “I am very flattered at the fact that our community, this is the Town of Bonnyville, the MD of Bonnyville, our local doctors, and Covenant Health, received the award in terms of the work that we’ve done.”

Mayor Sobolewski explains the Doctor Recruitment Program is successful in Bonnyville because of the attention and care it is given, “in terms of the process we use, we are being recognized, and there’s likely going to be a video.” The video is just the beginning of the promotions for the program, which Sobolewski says there will be “a huge roll out” that’ll really give the public a chance to see what a positive impact the program has had on the medical community and the residents of Bonnyville, and surrounding areas.

“We’re very honoured, because the hard work we did is being recognized,” Sobolewski  states with pride.

Sadly, Bonnyville lost one of its doctors, Dr. Shekar Puttaswamy, in a single engine plane accident on July 26th, 2015. Dr. Puttaswamy, who had worked in the town since 2006, was the chief pathologist at The Bonnyville Health Centre. Mayor Sobolewski says Alberta Health Services is working with the town and the recruitment program to replace Dr. Puttaswamy as quickly and smoothly as possible.