THUNDER BAY -- The imminent departure of a Thunder Bay gastroenterologist has left the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre looking to recruit two specialists in that field.
Dr. Stewart Kennedy, executive vice-president of medicine at the hospital, says Dr. Alallam is relocating to another city and will close his Thunder Bay practice at the end of July for personal and family reasons.
Kennedy told Tbnewswatch that Dr. Alallam has "a good working reputation" and has offered to return to provide support on a temporary basis as a locum, but his move means the community only has two of the four full-time gastroenterologists it needs.
Kennedy said the Health Sciences Centre's posting for two new ones has attracted "considerable interest," and he is hopeful that at least one more specialist will be practicing in Thunder Bay by the fall.
"We've just made a letter of offer to one individual who's interested in coming to Thunder Bay, and we're also reviewing the applications of three other gastroenterologists."
Kennedy noted, however, that the hospital requires "a specific skill set...so not everybody who applies would be appropriate for coming to Thunder Bay to complement our team."
He said that while the vacancies remain unfilled, "we will be tight for a period of time, but we don't anticipate any sort of major gap in services," noting that general surgeons at the hospital also do endoscopy work.
Kennedy said Thunder Bay has a significant population suffering from various kinds of inflammatory bowel disease, so having the required specialists to take care of their needs is a priority.
He pointed out that filling vacancies is nothing new for the hospital's recruiters because doctors relocate from Thunder Bay frequently.
"This happens all the time with physicians who work in a bit of an isolated community, away from their families, so this isn't unusual at all."
