Warden says committee moving too slow on medical clinic

By Greg Bennett

The Coast Guard

NovaNewsNow.com

Shelburne Municipal Warden Sherman Embree says a committee formed to recruit physicians to the area is moving too slowly on the construction of a medical clinic. “The steps are too slow; the steps are too small,” Embree said during a Monday April 27 council meeting. “At some stage we have to bite the bullet and get this started.”

During discussion of a $6,200 request towards a $20,000 design study of the clinic, Shelburne Municipal CAO Kirk Cox questioned why the committee had not already applied for funding under the Build Canada fund instead of asking municipalities to completely fund it. “You would be eligible for the costs under that program,” he said.

South West Health has paid for conceptual drawings of the new clinic by an architect, and provided the services of their project manager to assess the clinic site and provide feedback, including a cost estimate. Based on the drawings, estimated cost of construction will be in the vicinity of $500,000. “Why not apply for the $500,000 now asked Cox. “Now’s a good time to do it.”

The Shelburne County Physician Recruitment Committee has been tasked to find ways to entice family doctors and specialist to live in and serve the area.

The lack of physicians in Shelburne County has left hundreds of people without a family doctor and has caused regular closures of the Roseway Hospital’s emergency room.