Source: PelhamToday
By Kris Dube
Niagara Health is facing a shortage of roughly 40 to 45 medical specialists in critical fields like emergency medicine, anesthesia, and mental health, according to data shared with Village Media.
To fill the gap, the health system is launching a new partnership with the regional government. The strategy will leverage the municipality’s highly successful family doctor recruitment framework—which brought 28 new family physicians to Niagara in the past year alone—and apply it directly to high-need hospital specialists.
The shift comes as Niagara Health faces ongoing pressures in emergency and acute care services due to staffing gaps. Simultaneously, the environment is shifting; local care demands are rising due to an aging population with more complex medical needs, while newer doctors are prioritizing different practice models and work‑life balances.
“This new partnership is an important step forward, bringing our efforts together to strengthen recruitment of specialist physicians,” said Lynn Guerriero, president and CEO at Niagara Health. “As we continue to modernize and transform hospital care, these recruitment efforts will be critical to our success.”
To execute the joint strategy, the two bodies are introducing a jointly funded physician recruitment co-ordinator. The new administrative role will free up Niagara Region’s current recruitment program manager, Jill Croteau, to focus squarely on hunting for specialists while maintaining the existing pipeline for family doctors.
By pooling data, tools, and marketing resources, the groups hope to offer incoming physicians a seamless onboarding experience into the community.
“It builds on the Region’s well-established and successful Physician Recruitment Program, allowing us to coordinate more closely with Niagara Health and include additional physician opportunities in our recruitment conversations, particularly in areas of need such as emergency medicine, internal medicine and hospitalist roles, said Janine Tessmer, senior communications specialist with the Region.
The Region has been very successful recruiting family doctors, opening a “clear opportunity to apply that model to specialist recruitment, where the need is growing,” Niagara Health said in a statement.
Across the peninsula, there are separate recruitment programs offered by local municipalities that offer perks to attract family doctors starting new practices or taking over existing ones, such as signing bonuses.
Each local municipality has its formula on what it dangles in front of potential new recruits, like the City of Welland offering $100,000 to family doctors who open a practice locally.
The regional program handles marketing, promotes various practice models, and assists with site tours, licensing, and onboarding across all 12 municipalities, while programs offered by lower-tier municipalities involve their own specific efforts, such as incentives.
The new partnership between the Region and Niagara Health currently focuses strictly on administrative recruitment and marketing rather than new cash bonuses.
The purpose of the partnership is to “strengthen recruitment outreach and help connect physicians with opportunities across Niagara’s health system, supporting better access to care for residents,” said Tessmer.