– Subjects of recruitment drive will pick new home in two months –

By Chad IngramrnOsoyoos Times

Osoyoos needs doctors, and two practitioners who may soon call the town home were here last month for a visit.
A South African couple was in town Oct. 23 and 24, scoping out Osoyoos. They met with members of Destination Osoyoos (DO), Town Council and the local medical community.
Executive Director for DO, Glenn Mandziuk, says the physicians were curious and inquisitive.
The big areas they wanted to see were housing and lifestyle, Mandziuk said. The couple was given a presentation by DO, highlighting the various amenities Osoyoos has to offer, which Mandziuk said centred on its wine country lifestyle.
It also gave them a good opportunity to ask a lot of questions, he said. The director said the couple's main concerns seemed to be about the costs of living and housing.
The physicians were given a lengthy tour of Osoyoos by DO First Vice-Chair Derek Noske.
What they were really shocked by was how similar the atmosphere is to South Africa, Mandziuk said.
I think they were expecting the North Pole.
The couple was also given a tour of local medical facilities by some of the town's doctors.
An Oliver-Osoyoos physician recruitment task force is made up of some the area's physicians, municipal councillors and members of DO.
There are currently six doctors in Osoyoos, and the recruitment group is working to increase this number.
While Mandziuk said he thought the meeting went well and that the doctors seemed pleased, he admitted they were also investigating a few communities in northern B.C. during their Canadian trip.
The director said the financial bonuses that would be given for living and working in those communities are higher than the rural physician bonuses the doctors would receive working in Osoyoos.
So we have that to go up against, he said.
However, some of Osoyoos' current physicians are also natives of South Africa, and Mandziuk believes this could be a big benefit for the town.
That really does a lot for making them feel welcome in town, he said.
Canada is in the throes of a nationwide doctor shortage. Mandziuk said a number of local doctors are approaching retirement, which makes the need to recruit new physicians more urgent.
Osoyoos is also the province's third-eldest municipality per capita, with an average age of 58.8 and 10 per cent of its population over the age of 80.
For now the physicians have returned to their home outside of Cape Town, South Africa. Mandziuk expects to hear back from them within the next couple of months.
While in Osoyoos, the doctors stayed in a room donated by the Spirit Ridge Resort.
In February, Osoyoos Town Council said it believes there is a local doctor shortage.
At the same time, it asked DO to develop a doctor recruitment strategy.
DO, along with most of the doctors from Osoyoos and Oliver, and economic development staff from Oliver met on the issue last winter and have been developing a strategy.