NS Grant Helps Cumberland Search for Doctors
Efforts to recruit and retain doctors in Cumberland County received a boost from the provincial government. The Municipality was granted 15,700 dollars from the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage.
The councillor who represents the municipality on a county-wide doctor search committee says this is wonderful news. Joe van Vulpen says it will help greatly in the current effort to bring new doctors and keep them in the area.
The local committee consists of physicians, municipal politicians, and community leaders, people like van Vulpen, the mayors of Amherst and Oxford, and concerned doctors and citizens.
When the committee was first structured, more than two years ago, the county was reluctant to contribute to the cause, citing it was the province’s responsibility to recruit doctors. In the first year, Amherst provided the bulk of the funding for committee activity.
Last year, at van Vulpen’s urging, the Municipality set aside one thousand dollars for the effort. Meanwhile, Amherst received a provincial grant of 15 thousand. This latest contribution to the municipality comes from that same provincial program.
While the Nova Scotia Health Authority has the responsibility for recruiting doctors, the province recognized that local community involvement can play a major role in helping the cause.
Another round of funding applications opens on April first.
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