At a special April 3, 2024 Huntsville Council meeting, councillors will vote on whether to offer family physicians who move their practice to Huntsville a $60,000 signing bonus.
On March 25, 2024, Council directed Huntsville Councillors Bob Stone and Scott Morrison to work with staff to create an incentive program to attract family physicians to the community and report back to council for approval. However the incentive program is not yet in place and according to the motion going before council, “there are currently several physicians imminently exploring relocation options for their family practice, one location being the Town of Huntsville…”
If the resolution is approved, it would allow the municipality to offer the $60,000 signing bonus to up to six physicians for the remainder of the 2022-2026 term of council. The motion does not provide details about the signing bonus other than that the parameters of the signing incentive to be outlined in an agreement ought to be to the satisfaction of the Chief Administrative Officer.
If approved by council, the funds would come from the Municipal Accommodation Tax reserve.
With three Huntsville physicians expected to retire in the next six months, the number of people without a family physician in Huntsville is expected to grow to an estimated 6,600, Stone told fellow councillors on March 25, 2024.
UPDATE:
Council votes in favour of pulling all the stops to attract physicians to Huntsville
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Harold Reid says
What do nurse practitioners get for bonus!!!
Joanne Tanaka says
Is $60,000 enough? Belleville has been running a successful Doctor Recruitment/ primary care campaign funded by city shareholder dividends from Elexicon Energy, offering $150, 000 for five year contracts, bringing in 45 recruits and spending over 6 million dollars. Yes Belleville is much bigger and can offer better opportunities in the community, but that is the competition. They also have face to face contact at university recruitment fairs and have a section on the Town website under the Do Business tab for Doctor Recruitment that outlines their offers and a nice video about Belleville. Can we do more with personal face to face and networking with local doctors and nurses and alumni groups? Hopefully we do not lose practioners to Belleville.
George Rethy says
Yes, they should pay signing bonuses. Best use of taxpayer money that I can think of.
Brenda Begg says
Joanne T.
I too, wonder if $60,000 is enough of an incentive. I think not. Belleville’s program sounds like something we need to put in place in Huntsville – as of yesterday!
Harold R. Yes, what about an incentive for nurse practitioners?
David Gordon says
When is a signing bonus a good signing bonus? When there is a retention requirement. Don’t overlook the certainty of affordable housing as a significant way to attract Doctors. Housing is the number one consideration for someone relocating.
Robert Graziano says
Hope they can find a place to live!
Dr. Howard Bargman says
Imagine you’ve been a customer at business X for 20 years. Then business X offers a 20% discount to any new customers. Wouldn’t you be be upset that you didn’t get at least the same offer, after your years of customer loyalty?
I think Council should recognize the doctors who have been working in Huntsville for years and providing the outstanding care that they do. Show them some ‘love’ too.
I have been a dermatologist for 47 years, and help out in Huntsville. You don’t know the gems you have here taking care of you.
Scott Morrison says
Hello Dr. Bargman, You make an excellent point, and thank you for helping out in Huntsville as well.
We definitely want to make sure that our current doctors feel the love. I have the pleasure of knowing a lot of our local physicians and healthcare professionals and they are such an integral part of our community. That is why we only brought this motion forward after extensive consultation with our current doctors. At the end of the day, we are just supporting our current doctors and their initiatives to hire more family physicians for our town. They are the ones making the offers to these physicians, we are just trying to give them the tools that they have told us that they need.
Allen Markle says
It seems “what goes around” has come around again. 150 years after the citizens of Huntsville went in search of a Doctor, we have councilors on the hunt again. This time with the possibility of a $60,000.00 signing bonus.
John Scarlett chaired the original meeting in 1874 and George Hunt had acted as secretary. Dr. Howland of Woodstock had responded to the town’s desire “that a medical gentleman be invited to take up residence in this place.”
Hunt records in his diary “The following parties have agreed to guarantee that the deficiency existing between the amt. now subscribed and the $600.00 will be made up. Dr. Howland signified his consent to the proposition. John Scarlett. Chas Ambler. George Hunt. Fredrick Francis. Collingwood Seely. Mr H Butler. Mr Booth. Alan Shay. Milan Markell.” An assortment of businessmen and farmers who knew the town needed a doctor. (Spirit and Resolve by Susan Pryke lists John Scarlett, Charles Ambler, William F. Hanes, William Buker, William Booth, Allan Shay, and Milan Markle as the guarantors.) But the doctor came and the rest is history.
Best of luck to Councilors Morrison and Stone in their search for medical people to “take up residence in this place.” It really is a good place.
Allen Markle
on behalf of ‘The Huntsville and Area Historical Society’