LAC LA BICHE - Two additional doctors are set to begin practicing in Lac La Biche, with one expected before the end of the year and another next year.
The news, however, comes after two current Lac La Biche based physicians, Cornelius Nortje and Tracy-Lee Lindenberg, recently announced they will be closing their practices at the Associated Medical Clinic on March 1, 2025. Both of those physicians have asked their patients to look for new family doctors.
Heather Stromquist, Lac La Biche County’s manager of economic development and tourism, said County officials are hopeful a new physician, Dr. Bukunmi Kolawale will be starting in November. The doctor’s LinkedIn profile already describes him as a permanent full-time family doctor hired by Alberta Health Services working in Lac La Biche.
The second new doctor, identified as Dr. Temidayo Daniel Owonibi, is described in his LinkedIn profile as being trained in South Africa and currently working at Frontier Hospital in the southeastern part of the country. He is anticipated to start practicing in Lac La Biche next May or June.
According to Stromquist, work is also being done to bring more doctors to the community.
“Additional recruitment efforts are underway and ongoing,” she told Lakeland This Week.
Presently, there are seven physicians practicing at the Associated Medical Clinic including Kelly Anderson, who grew up in Lac La Biche, and recently returned to her home community to practice medicine at the clinic.
Lac La Biche County councillor Charlyn Moore says the municipality and surrounding communities are working in collaboration to lobby both the Government of Alberta and Alberta Health Services to increase the usage of rural hospitals for day surgeries.
This, she continued, would allow for doctors to either rotate through the hospitals, or give local physicians more opportunity to practice skills.
While the objective is to bring more doctors to the Lac La Biche area, Moore understands how finding new healthcare professionals in rural Alberta can be a challenge. She has been a member of the community’s physician recruitment and retention committee for several years.
“The trouble with rural practice is that the workload is very heavy with clinic and hospital hours, making it difficult to find a work life balance,” Moore said. “This is something I completely appreciate and something that only AHS and the hiring of additional doctors can elevate.”
Some of the work to find more doctors in the community has been done by the ones leaving, said Moore, explaining that she is thankful for the time and effort that the community’s two departing doctors have put into hiring and securing new doctors as well as maintaining their own patients, along with hospital hours and taking care of very young families.
Additionally, she said, county councillors have invested municipal funds into the renovations of the local medical clinic to assist with the building beautification that is currently underway.
That funding came at a Sept. 12 council meeting where councillors unanimously approved to provide a conditional grant to the owning shareholders of the Associated Medical Clinic in Lac La Biche for reimbursement of improvements for up to $200,000. The money comes from the Resident Response Fund. The approval, Moore added, is based on conditions set out in a legally-binding contract discussed in closed session.
Moore says the Lac La Biche Regional Attraction and Retention Committee – a local group comprised of community members and elected official – is passionate about welcoming new doctors and professionals to the Lac La Biche area.
Moore said that the County often invites doctors to community events, provides gym passes to new and “locum” doctors, and provides welcome gifts. Moore who is also a full-time realtor in the community, says she has met many of the community’s incoming doctors and families over the past several years, through what she jokingly calls a process like a “speed date.”
In those meetings, Moore says she showcases the local community, , touring new doctors through arts and culture, and introducing them to schools, recreation, church, accommodation and recreation options.
“There is nothing else like seeing your community through the eyes of a newcomer and I love when community members help me showcase the very best of our region,” she said.
The Lac La Biche Post newsroom reached out to doctors Nortje and Lindenberg for additional comments, but neither were available for comment. Both physicians have announced their departures with advertisements in Lakeland This Week and direct correspondence with their patients.
