Saugeen Shores is holding onto some doctors who have been working in ER at Saugeen Memorial Hospital and another doctor is on the way to the community.
Council on Monday approved bylaws that sees Doctor Steve MacKinnon staying in the community for at least another year.
Town CAO Larry Allison says, Doctor MacKinnon has agreed to continue his work in the Emergency Room in Southampton, pulling down a minimum of 10 to 12 ER shifts a month, when not pursuing further education.
He will be joined by Doctor Robert LeBlanc who returns to the ER in August.
Allison says Doctor LeBlanc has been servicing a practice vacated by two doctors who left the community last year, but is going to give that up to focus full time on the ER.
That practice, though, will not be orphaned because a new physician — Doctor Onya Bekasiak — will be in the community in another month or two, once she is licensed to take over Doctor LeBlanc’s family practice.
Allison says the moves bode well for the physician needs in the community and in the ER department at the hospital as well.
Another new physician, Doctor Heather Gleba, will begin practice soon at the Port Elgin clinic.
She was originally going to set up a practice in Southampton but as a result of changing roles and locations of other physicians in the community, Doctor Gleba will begin her practice at the Port Elgin clinic and will be seeking new patients as soon as she can.
