Coastal voices: Access to medical care: A possible solution

Rural communities throughout the United States are lacking adequate access to health care providers. What we and other similar rural communities have in common is the shortage of primary care physicians who can provide for our everyday health maintenance and disease prevention.

Del Norte County has lost approximately 30 percent of its physicians since 2004. Patients who routinely had their own doctor in the past are now having difficulties finding replacements without going out of town. The current use of urgent care centers and/or emergency rooms for non-emergent medical issues is not an appropriate long-term option for this problem.

What is our community doing to reverse this trend? Sutter Coast Hospital has been recruiting primary care and specialist physicians to our area for many years. For the last three years, the Physician Recruiting and Retention Committee has been meeting to brainstorm solutions to our predicament of decreasing numbers of physicians. One idea that was generated to encourage an influx of health care providers has led to the newly founded Physician Loan Repayment Program.

Since many young physicians often complete their training with student loans totaling $150,000 or more, the Loan Repayment Program will assist physicians in repaying their loans in exchange for a four-year commitment to practicing medicine in Del Norte County.

The committee believes that once a physician practices and lives in our area for four years, there is a greater possibility in retaining them for a longer period. It is anticipated that the providers and their families will develop relationships and roots in our community that will keep them here for years to come.

The Physician Loan Repayment Program has been made possible by the commitment of over $50,000 per year by four community donors: Elk Valley Rancheria, Sutter Coast Hospital, Smith River Rancheria and the Health Care District. Their support and generosity is greatly appreciated. As individuals, we can also make a difference in the recruitment and retention of health care providers.

From personal experience, I can attest to the positive influence that our community had in retaining physicians. My family and I moved to Crescent City from Southern California in 1982 to fulfill a two-year Public Health Loan Repayment. During those first two years, not only was I welcomed and supported as a new physician to the area, but my family felt a strong connection to their new surroundings. The general warmth and encouragement of the community greatly influenced our decision to stay in the area.

Hopefully, with the combined efforts of community members, the medical community, the Physician Loan Repayment Program, and the future investment by the CA Endowment, we can enjoy Del Norte County as a healthy and prosperous place for all of us to live.

Thomas J. Martinelli, M.D., is the Del Norte County public health officer.