Mary Sue Fitzpatrick
Vice President, Physician Recruitment
Greater KW Chamber of Commerce
This weekend, local family physicians and business and community leaders will join volunteers of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce in hosting 17 family medicine residents and their partners from across Ontario.
Organized by the Chamber’s Health Care Resources Council Family Physician Liaison Task Force, the annual family medicine resident weekend is a major recruitment initiative that positively engages young physicians and promotes the community as a welcoming, attractive, leading edge centre of medical excellence with promising practice opportunities.
“The weekend is a wonderful opportunity for these first and second year family medicine residents to get better acquainted with the community and our health care facilities,” said Al Hayes, chair of the organizing committee. “While residents tour medical facilities to meet and speak with local family practitioners, their partners tour the community and have opportunity to explore employment opportunities with local business and community leaders.” Over the past fifteen years, many of the visiting residents have made the decision to establish their family practices in Kitchener-Waterloo and Woolwich as a direct result of the weekend visit.
Chamber President and CEO, Ian McLean relayed that the visitors will be the guests of Communitech at a special luncheon on Saturday. “This year’s family medicine residents and their partners will meet some high profile business and community leaders and learn more about the region’s diversity and its strong innovative and entrepreneurial spirit.”
This important physician recruitment weekend is supported through generous corporate and municipal investment in Chamber Health Care Resources Council programs and initiatives.
Working with community partners, the Chamber has helped recruit over 165 family physicians since 1998 when over 40,000 residents did not have access to a family practitioner. Today, that number is estimated to be around 15,000.
