Adam Hambly. (Submitted Photo)
Just over a year ago, in July 2022, the County and the Prince Edward Family Health Team announced the appointment of a dedicated “physician recruiter.”
That was Adam Hambly. A Respiratory Therapist, he was already working with doctors in hospital and other healthcare settings. He was tapped for the job while developing a regional lung health program across Hastings-Prince Edward. The perfect combination of medical expertise and administrative chops, he’s also just extremely affable.
And he has quietly brought four new doctors to the County, two as long-term locums, one permanent — and a fourth confirmed to take a permanent spot in the Spring of 2024.
Mr. Hambly is from a very northern, very small town called White River, population 800, near Thunder Bay. His high school was 100km away. He studied at Nipissing University and found work as an RT in 2011, in Belleville. From there, it did not take him long to discover the County.
“I was 23 years old, and I found myself in Belleville. There is no way I would have stayed if I had not found the County.” He has been here ever since, first in Consecon, then Picton, and finally Waupoos.
The Family Health Team has openings for seven doctors. Its newest permanent addition, Dr. Meagan Dineen, is now looking for a house with her husband. Her arrival, along with that of two locums, Dr. Spencer Lee and Dr. Sarah Branton, is a real success story for Mr. Hambly.
“It’s the culmination of a year’s work, to have three doctors arrive in the County, even if they are not all permanent yet. And there’s a fourth on the way.”
But even as the new temporary and permanent physicians arrive, they are absorbed in covering and taking over existing practices. Dr. Dineen will take over for Dr. Adamek, for example. The PEC Memorial Hospital Foundation has provided substantial financial support, and helped make the case to the County for a second full year of recruitment efforts.
Mr. Hambly is confident that the coming year will build on the achievements of the first.
“It’s a long runway,” he said. “Way longer than I fully appreciated when I took this on. It’s months to years to get fully operational. You put a lot of work into the front end, and you are lucky if you get any results at all at first.” By that barometer, Mr. Hambly has been a lot more than lucky.
The doctor shortage is not just local, it’s province-wide, and severe. Too few doctors are choosing to specialize in family medicine. Never mind the challenges of recruiting for a rural area that students at McMaster, Toronto, or McGill might consider too remote — at first.
Mr. Hambly has established a website, County Docs, a quarterly newsletter, and a partnership program with the local hospitality industry designed to showcase all that living here can offer.
“The infrastructure we’ve put into place, our communications, and the team we’ve assembled are huge elements.” The doctor finder is frequently on the road. “We attend conferences and job fairs at all the medical schools, as well as those for medical residents. We advertise with Health Force Ontario, a site for physician job postings. We are very active on social media.”
Once he gets the opportunity to host a site visit from a prospective physician, Mr. Hambly pulls out all the stops. “You have to wow them at a site visit — if you are lucky enough to even get a site visit.”
“I really focus on the hospitality, I offer an almost white-glove service, incredibly organized; a lot of time and effort go into it.” A visit can be just one afternoon.
To this end, our recruiter is most proud of his work with local wining and dining experts. Hartley’s Tavern, Huff Estates, Karlo Estates, the Drake Devonshire, The Royal, and Crimson Cider are all partners. He has also set up a Doctor Accommodation Network, which supports newly arrived physicians with reasonably priced housing.
“There are two big barriers: first, graduating doctors are encouraged not to take a practice right way but to locum for a while, try things on. That advice makes my job harder. Second, more than half want to be in an urban setting. It’s maybe a handful who are interested in rural right off the bat.”
“We want to smash the perception that this is a retirement community. There are a lot of younger people here now, people in their 20s and 30s, with young families. Generally, the candidates looking to establish a practise are younger, and I want to show them there’s lots of fun stuff going on.”
Clearly, with three doctors here already and another on the way, the wine, not to mention Mr. Hambly, must be pretty good.
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