Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
The West Northumberland Physicial Recruitment and Retention Committee announces a new doctor arriving in the community.
The news came to Cobourg council’s July meeting in a press release from recruitment co-ordinator Tracy West.
“Dr. Trisha Rys has been recruited to our community and has already started practicing,” the announcement said.
“She will also attend to her patients admitted to NHH and will further support the community hospital by working in the emergency department.”
A doctor for four years, Rys has practiced in Northern Ontario and British Columbia. She attended the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and completed her residency through Queen’s University (Oshawa Bowmanville Lakeridge Health site).
“It was during this time that she became familiar with our wonderful community,” the press release said. She moved to the area last month, along with her husband and two daughters.
Committee chair Gerald Blackstock said they are pleased to welcome Dr. Rys and her family to the community.
“Her recruitment is another example of the recruitment efforts by the WNPRRC as they strive to recruit new family physicians in order to keep pace with the future needs of our residents,” Blackstock said in the bulletin.
It also carried a welcome from Dr. Mark Essak, whose practice Dr. Rys will be joining to take over the entire patient roster of Dr. Kemi Oluyole.
“When I first talked to Trisha, she said that she and Paul wanted to find a good place to raise their family. Right away I knew they would be coming here,” Dr. Essak recalled.
Dr. Rys will not be accepting new patients immediately though, when the time is right, she will begin working with Health Care Connect to access their list of residents who are looking for a
family physician. The committee advises anyone seeking a family phsyican to contact Health Care Connect at 1-800-445-1822.
The recruitment committee relies on funding from West Northumberland municipalities for its work of attracting family physicians to the community.
Deputy Mayor John Henderson, who has sat through many presentations to council by commitee members, was delighted with the news.
“You can see it’s another reason why the physician-recruitment committee does such a significant job,” Henderson said.
“It’s always great news when we welcome a new physician to our community, and to bring her family to the community.”
“Good work by the physician-recruitment committee,” Mayor Gil Brocanier agreed.