Stettler Town Council: Doctor situation in Stettler looking brighter: mayor

With the New Year comes a brightening medical professionals situation in Stettler: the mayor of the Town of Stettler relates that a lot of community-wide effort has borne fruit when it comes to recruiting new doctors.

Mayor Sean Nolls noted in an interview with the ECA Review Jan. 8 that a community-wide effort spearheaded by the Stettler and District Board of Trade (BOT) will see one new doctor starting in Stettler in January, while two more are expected to begin over the next two months.

Nolls noted that Dr. Gabriel Ude is expected to take a position at Stettler Medical Clinic beginning Monday, Jan. 13 and noted that it’s just one of many achievements the community-wide effort to recruit and retain medical professionals in this region has made.

Nolls stated that BOT Executive Director Byron Geddes has been a key factor in searching for, recruiting, courting and retaining physicians to Stettler.

The mayor stated Geddes has been diligently working with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and several other key health agencies to keep track of physicians interested in coming to Alberta.

Nolls added though that the effort to recruit new doctors to Stettler has been supported by the entire community, including the hospital, medical clinics, businesses, agencies and many more.

The mayor clarified that when physicians from out-of-country come to Canada or are involved in re-certification, the doctor can receive multiple offers from communities, not just Stettler, with the mayor suggesting Dr. Ude had offers from five communities, including Stettler.

But Stettler, according to Nolls, did it right. They scheduled an in-depth visit for the prospective physician, showcasing the community of Stettler and everything it has to offer not just for a physician but for the doctor’s family as well.

Nolls pointed out prospective doctors tour health facilities in Stettler to see the high quality environment they could work in, but also see the quality of life Stettler offers for families and how it can cater to their interests.

The community touch doesn’t end there, though. The mayor stated doctor recruiters have worked with a local auto dealership that offers a vehicle purchasing program for doctors coming to Canada from a foreign country, adding that those bits of help can make a difference for someone moving to Canada.

Nolls stated the physician recruitment community really appreciates the extra effort Geddes has put in as he makes prospective doctors feel at home in Stettler.

Most recently, Nolls noted Stettler’s community came together Jan. 6 and 7 for a prospective physician’s two-day tour. He stated that a single day tour tends to be a bit of a whirlwind, while two days gives the doctor more time, for example, to explore the recently renovated Stettler Hospital.

The Stettler community began talking about a dearth of physicians in 2024, as due to a number of unforeseen circumstances the community lost a number doctors in a relatively short period of time.

Nolls noted that another complication is much more ongoing, and that’s that some physicians either want to change their specialty or are pondering retirement.

Nolls stated that not that many years ago Stettler’s family doctor population peaked at 12 and as circumstances conspired against the community, six are no longer available.

Currently, Nolls noted Stettler has about seven family doctors. Ideally, the mayor would like to see 12 to 14 general practitioners in the community.

“I think it’s realistic,” said the mayor. “We have the capacity in our clinics for 12.” The mayor predicted that by the end of 2025 Stettler will have seen five new doctors arrive.

However, Nolls recognized that communities essentially compete with each other to recruit medical professionals and the effort to find and keep doctors must be ongoing.

The mayor added that with strong community assistance, especially from such groups as Stettler Needs Doctors and many others, 2025 is starting to look very bright when it comes to local physician recruitment efforts.

Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review

About the author

Stu Salkeld

Stu Salkeld, who has upwards of 28 years of experience in the Alberta community newspaper industry, is now covering councils and other news in the Stettler region and has experience working in the area as well.

He has joined the ECA Review as a Local Journalism Initiative Journalist.

Stu earned his two-year diploma in print journalism from SAIT in Calgary from 1993 to ’95 and was raised in Oyen, Alta., one of the communities within the ECA Review’s coverage area.