By OMA President Carla McKelvey, MD
I attended the Southwestern Oregon Medical Society Alliance Social at Steve and Eva Shimotakahara’s home. It was great fun with great food. The alliance does great work here with their internet safety program as well as their anti-bullying program.
In my opinion, Coos Bay is one of the most beautiful places in the state and I do not understand why anyone would visit and not want to move here. One of the challenges that many rural practices across the state face, though, is recruitment and retention. Some of this is related to the shortage of primary care physicians and some of this is related to lifestyle issues.
Communities are coming up with innovative ways to address these issues. Some rural hospitals have begun using hospitalists although they may tweak it to fit their challenges. Our hospital has utilized what they called a “nocturnalist” who is someone that covers from 11 pm to 7 am. The two physicians who work in this program are employed by the hospital. The slots they are not available to work are still covered by local physicians. It has proven to be a successful hybrid program.
Overall, though, the recruitment and retention of physicians is going to have to be solved by community efforts. Health care communities or private practices will not be able to do this alone. It is another area in which the involvement of the community through CCOs may enhance health care as a whole. Once local business owners see the importance or difficulty of recruiting and retaining physicians, there may be more effort and buy-in to assist. Continuity of care benefits everyone.
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