Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis and Economic & Strategic Initiatives Manager Karen Poste were at an Ottawa University job fair on Friday, attempting to recruit more doctors to settle in Belleville.
The competition was fierce, with 30 organizations and municipalities, including Belleville’s neighbours Quinte West and Prince Edward County, vying for the attention of 55 medical students.
Ellis said that they invited 15 of the students to visit Belleville for a weekend and get to know the city. Of those 15, he said he expects 4 or 5 to be successfully recruited.
Ellis went on to praise the doctor recruitment program, pointing out it’s success over the past decade, and the numerous imitation programs popping up around Ontario. Despite it’s success, Ellis pointed out there’s still room to improve.
“Karen has recruited over 43 doctors in the last 10 years. And there’s a shortage all over Ontario. So a lot of municipalities copied our exact same program that we started in 10 years ago, and some have better programs. So it’s something we’re looking at now to maybe up our program or adapt it to some of the other successful communities.”
The current program offers a $150,000 incentive towards a student’s tuition costs, in exchange for practising medicine in Belleville for a minimum of 5 years after graduation.
