September 15, 2003

Health Minister Dave Chomiak today announced that Dr. David Cram will consult and report on rural physician recruitment and retention in the Assiniboine Regional Health Authority (RHA).

Dr. Cram’s assignment is to meet with doctors, communities, the RHA, and all relevant organizations such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba and the Manitoba Medical Association to develop a sustainable strategy for improving doctor recruitment and retention in rural Manitoba.

"For more than a decade, maintaining doctors in some rural communities has been an ongoing challenge," Chomiak said. "Now that we have a net inflow of doctors to rural areas, we need strategies to retain more of them for longer."

Cram will report back to the minister before the end of the year. In addition to meeting with stakeholders, Cram will also work with the Office of Rural and Northern Health (ORNH), which was established to improve doctor recruitment and retention in rural and northern Manitoba.

"Rural medicine has changed and continues to change. What worked for rural doctors in the past won’t necessarily work in the new and ever changing rural environment," Cram said. "We clearly need to look at how we get doctors and keep doctors in rural Manitoba, and how we support their work in the ongoing provision of rural health care."

Penny Sorenson, CEO of the Assiniboine RHA, welcomed the minister’s announcement. "Improving doctor recruitment and retention is essential to stabilizing the delivery of health care in rural areas," Sorenson said. "The Assiniboine RHA looks forward to Dr. Cram’s report."

Born and raised in Neepawa, Cram is a rural doctor who has practised in Souris since 1986. A founding member of the Manitoba Southwest Association of Rural Physicians, Cram has been a strong advocate for health care in rural Manitoba.

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