Attracting primary care and specialty physicians to underserved areas

Posted by Gail Weiss on January 22nd, 2008. Filed under: finding a job, medical profession, medical loans, rural areas, underserved areas, underserved communities.

The Observer, a community newspaper located in Dunkirk, NY, 45 miles southwest of Buffalo, has an item about a state initiative aimed at luring physicians to underserved communities. The article quotes Brooks Memorial Hospital president and CEO Richard Ketcham:

“The reasons that relatively few physicians choose to live and practice in rural areas are varied but include, among other reasons, professional isolation, limited or no availability for back up call coverage, few job opportunities for spouses, and lover income potential.”

The initiative, put forward by New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, would provide up to $150,000 to help pay off medical loans to physicians who agree to work for at least five years in underserved areas of the state.

Ketcham backs Spitzer initiative for doctors [Via The Observer]

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