Bonnie Clark, manager of physicians and community relations at Northern Berkshire Healthcare, opened the meeting on Friday morning noting that over the past 10 years it's become increasingly difficult to attract doctors to the area. 

 

Eileen Michaels, president of Harris Brand Recruiting in Schenectady, N.Y., told the roughly 65 in attendance at First Baptist Church that the shortage occurred because an American Medical Association prediction of a physician surplus in the 1990s resulted in a plateau of medical school graduates while the country's population increased by one-third.

 

NBH President Timothy Jones stressed the shortage isn't the community's fault, but rather a nationwide problem to about 60 people.

 

"I hope people don't feel that it's personal about this community ... this community has some amazing, amazing things to offer," Jones said. "And as an example, what we have today, we have outstanding, outstanding community services that we make available, world-class education in both communities, an artist community that's amazing. We have museums. We have a tremendous amount to offer. So it's not about that offer, it's about the shortage."

 

Cathleen McElligott, director of the state Office of Rural Health, said she's involved in the advisory board for the rural scholarship program with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, which places practitioners into rural communities to expose them to the setting and build relationships.

 

"If we can attach these people early into their careers to rural communities then that's the pipeline, so Bonnie can pick them up later on," McElligott said.

 

Dr. Anthony Smeglin of Williamstown Medical Associates was drawn to this community 27 years for three key reasons — job stability, other economic factors and his idea of the people of the community. 

 

"The things that brought me to this community were, No. 1, the practice was stable so I felt like if I was going to uproot my family wherever I was at that time to come here, it was important to know that there was going to be a job there," Smeglin said.

 

Smeglin continued that economic development was also important for him. He wanted to know if his wife would have a job and if his children can find a job when they were finished school.

 

Bonnie Clark of Northern Berkshire Healthcare raises a sign of key points in recruiting more physicians.

The final thing that brought him to the Berkshires was that his medical school roommate grew up in Pittsfield, so he was convinced in the quality of people and lifestyle.

 

"So everyone in this room can have a chance to make a connection to their cousin who knows someone, who knows someone, to get that foot in the door and once they get here we usually we have a much better chance," Smeglin said.

 

Michaels also pointed that because 25 percent of physicians are 65 or older, of all active physicians, 30 percent are predicted to retire in the next 10 years.

 

"That has caused people to start to think not only about the national shortage of physicians, but as everyone else has alluded to, what else can we be doing as a society and a health-care system to change the dynamic of how health care is delivered?" Michaels asked.

 

Michaels pointed to the increase in nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, physician assistants and the increase of different kinds of health-care systems.

 

Lindsay Samale, a family nurse practitioner at Northern Berkshire Family Medical, stressed the importance of the emergence of nurse practitioners.

 

She explained that they are highly qualified — a least a master's degree or doctorate while passing a national certification exam — and manage their own patient panels, interpret diagnostic tests, treat conditions like diabetes and injuries, and relay education on prevention. Samale said their emphasis on the whole body and overall prevention aims to lower out-of-pocket expenses.

 

Samale said Northern Berkshire Family Medical is recruiting patients.

 

Dr. Jonathan Cluett, an orthopedic surgeon and on the executive team of Northern Berkshire Healthcare, offered a different perspective. He said this is a difficult place to practice in because of limited availability in specialty services, patients with complex problems and financial stress in the region. Cluett said teamwork between health care agencies, for example Berkshire Health Systems and Northern Berkshire Healthcare, can make this a more attractive destination for prospective physicians.

 

"I think structuring the way we provide health care can make this a more attractive community," Cluett said, noting that it's already an attractive place to live, but just difficult professionally.