Espanola Regional Hospital & Health Centre officials say they’re aware of the situation in Sault Ste. Marie where some 10,000 people have been de-rostered from the Group Health Centre due to physicians retiring or resigning but say they’re also experiencing challenges.
Although she sympathizes with the situation in the Sault, Hospital CEO Jane Battistelli CEO says as a rural health care campus, they are also experiencing similar challenges with the recruitment and retention of physicians, nurses, and allied health care providers.
She says approximately 10% of patients within the local catchment area do not have access to a Primary Care Provider, which impacts the health and wellbeing of the community, as well as the demand for the Emergency Department.
Meanwhile, political leaders, including Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Mantha, are pushing the Ford government to address the shortages and closures affecting health care across the North.