Doctor recruitment incentives in Chatham-Kent (CK) helped attract a few family physicians to the municipality in 2025.
A report going before Council on Monday night, showed that four family doctors were recruited last year for Wallaceburg, Wheatley, Blenheim, and Chatham at a cost of $100,000.
The Blenheim Health Hub also received $20,000 in capital funding as a matched grant to support capital funding, new builds or renovations to expand clinical space.
The Primary Care Family Physician Incentive Reserve still has $300,000 available for this year and next, according to administration.
CK Council approved the incentives in November 2024 to attract more doctors to the area.
The goal was to establish a reserve of $140,000 annually or $420,000 total until 2027 and doctors would need to agree to provide their services for five years.
In Chatham-Kent, there are approximately 30,000 people without a family doctor or nurse practitioner, according to the Chatham-Kent Family Physician Recruitment and Retention Task Force.
The taskforce also reported that Chatham-Kent needs around 40 family physicians based on current trends that include each doctor taking care of 1,500 patients and potential retirements.
The next Council will consider base funding for the doctor recruitment incentives in the 2028-2031 Multi-Year Budget.
