A British Columbia community91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频渙ut-of-the-box91裸聊视频� plan to ease its family doctor shortage by hiring physicians as city employees is sparking interest from across Canada, says Colwood Mayor Doug Kobayashi.

The mayor said the community has hired its first family doctor for a city-operated medical clinic, and the Victoria-area city is looking to hire seven more under the first-in-Canada pilot project.

The family doctors will be paid as community employees, receiving full medical benefits, vacation and a pension, he said.

Some people called the plan 91裸聊视频渃razy,91裸聊视频� when it was first proposed last year, but now it91裸聊视频檚 receiving interest from other communities across the country that are also suffering shortages of family medics, Kobayashi said in an interview Friday.

91裸聊视频淚 can tell you right now, the phone, texts, emails, it91裸聊视频檚 just going off like crazy from all the other municipalities,91裸聊视频� said Kobayashi. 91裸聊视频淭hey call me curious about, what the heck we91裸聊视频檙e doing.91裸聊视频�

The Colwood initiative is appealing to family doctors because those recruits become part of a supportive team with a focus on well-being, rather than the business of running a clinic, Kobayashi said.

While the doctors will be paid as Colwood employees, the program will be funded by provincial revenue billed by the clinic through the Ministry of Health in the same way doctors in other clinics bill for their time and office assistants.

Kobayashi said he originally proposed the concept to the B.C. government in the summer of 2023, where it was quickly given the green light to explore.

He delivered the plans to B.C.91裸聊视频檚 Ministry of Health on a Monday morning and by the noon hour, he received a call from former health minister Adrian Dix wanting to discuss the initiative.

Colwood estimates each new family doctor can be connected with 1,250 local residents and total up to 10,000 patient connections once the program is fully operational.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 been quite the adventure, but we got there, and I91裸聊视频檓 doing what I said I was going to do,91裸聊视频� said Kobayashi. 91裸聊视频淧eople thought I was a crazy guy. I am. I91裸聊视频檓 an out-of-the-box thinker. But this is so logical.91裸聊视频�

Dr. Cassandra Stiller-Moldovan, who will be the clinic91裸聊视频檚 first family doctor, said she and her family are moving to Vancouver Island from London, Ont.

Stiller-Moldovan, who was shovelling snow off her driveway Friday in Ontario, said she91裸聊视频檚 looking forward to living and practising medicine on the West Coast without having the extra duties of operating an office.

91裸聊视频淔or me it was a great life fit, both for myself professionally, but for myself personally,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚 have a young daughter and a spouse and this really was kind of a perfect model for me to really focus on the thing I really love to do, which is take care of patients. To me it really was a no-brainer.91裸聊视频�

Stiller-Moldovan said it was also appealing to be just a doctor and not an office boss with worries about overhead and bills.

At the Colwood clinic she said she will receive paid vacations, sick leave and maternity benefits paid by her employer.

Ahmer Karimuddin, president of Doctors of BC, said the Colwood plan is a 91裸聊视频渂old91裸聊视频� initiative in an era of physician shortages.

He said the old model where a family doctor looks to set up a practice in a local mall or shopping centre is outdated and communities need to look for new ways to attract physicians.

91裸聊视频淚 want to really congratulate the City of Colwood for being bold and brave enough to try something that91裸聊视频檚 out of the ordinary,91裸聊视频� said Karimuddin. 91裸聊视频淎cross the country, throughout Canada we91裸聊视频檙e seeing a shortage of family doctors and we need to think of out-of-the-box solutions that are different than what was happening in the past.91裸聊视频�

Doctors of BC is an association of more than 16,000 physicians, residents, and medical students in B.C.