Bow Valley faces new physician shortage, doctors say lack of housing is a 'major contributing factor'

As Zi Yue Wang wraps up her family medicine residency training in Ottawa, her eyes are on the Bow Valley. Her plan is to move to the area with her partner in the winter to help out with the current physician shortage.

To Wang's surprise, finding work was the easy part — the hard part has been finding a place to live.

"I realized it's the housing that's the limiting factor," said Wang. "It's frustrating because you would think that it would be easy for someone with stable employment and who's financially stable to try and find a place."

The Bow Valley is facing its first physician shortage this year, with no family doctors accepting new patients. But doctors like Wang who want to help out with the shortage are facing a major challenge: there's also a shortage of housing.

It's impacting the care patients are getting, with some having to travel to nearby cities like Calgary to be treated. And physicians in the area are scrounging for a solution, including calling on landlords to rent out units to visiting doctors.

New issue in the Bow Valley

No family doctors with the Bow Valley Primary Care Network are accepting new patients.

Albertans across many municipalities have been struggling to find a family doctor. CBC News previously reported that there was a dramatic drop in the number of family physicians accepting new patients between May 2020 and January 2022.

But it's a brand new issue in the Bow Valley.

Dr. Kendra Barrick, president and co-chair of the Bow Valley Primary Care Network, says there's typically a surplus of doctors looking to work in the area, but that's no longer the case.

"Over the past approximately two years, it has been a new and severe issue. This has not been an issue in the past," said Barrick.

She says there are many factors that play into this, and housing is one of them.

"The lack of affordable housing, the sheer lack of the number of available housing options is a problem."

A shortage of housing in the Bow Valley is an issue impacting residents across all sectors. CBC News previously reported that many long-time locals and new Banffites are struggling to find housing this year.

Barrick says the pandemic exacerbated mental health burnout so more doctors moved out of the Bow Valley or retired. That's paired with the increased cost of living, rent, supply and clinic operation due to supply chain issues and inflation.

"This is very multifactorial in going back to the pandemic," said Barrick.

Of all physicians within the Bow Valley PCN, Barrick says 12 per cent have left the Valley, six per cent retired and 12 per cent moved to practice in Calgary since February 2021 — leaving 70 per cent of physicians providing regular, ongoing primary care to the growing community.

Some patients travel more than 100 kilometres to access health care

As a transgender person with PTSD, comprehensive care is critical to Bow Valley resident, Samuel Daffodil — and it's something they haven't been able to find since they moved to the community last year.

"That was confusing for me — that no one in a large volume of space, within an entire valley, would consider me for having a family doctor, which was really essential to me and my broader holistic care," said Daffodil.

They say even when they would visit a walk-in clinic, they struggled to have enough rapport with a doctor to be on the same page about their care needs.

"I also sometimes struggled to get affirming care for my gender identity and specific needs around transition."

With no family doctor, no one would follow up with them after procedures and appointments with specialists.

Ultimately, Daffodil was forced to look elsewhere. They would often go to Calgary — more than 100 kilometres away — sometimes just for a walk-in, or even to approach an emergency department, to get their needs met.

With experience as a previous first responder, Daffodil says they benefit from understanding the system and codified language, and knowing how to navigate complex troubles. But they are worried about others in the community.

"What would it be like for someone with even more oppression or marginalization in this town to access? That's the people I'm concerned about the most, whether new, local or long-term."

They say any residents who face intersectional barriers, struggle with mental health or have deeper concerns involving sexual health or domestic violence are less likely to access health needs due to a lack of rapport with doctors.

Daffodil says they understand doctors are trying their best to care for all patients, but the system is so overburdened that it isn't possible to. 

Doctors calling on property owners to rent to visiting physicians

Bow Valley PCN recognizes that members and patients of the Valley need a physician, says Barrick, and she's starting to see the community come together to provide housing options for doctors.

The person leading that conversation is Canmore general practitioner Dr. Brendan Flowers.

He isn't only working to recruit new physicians to the Valley, but he's also trying to connect landlords to potential physicians in the community.

"I've certainly been trying to provide the clearest message to the community that not only are we short on physicians, but that we're actually short on housing," said Flowers.

The community is mainly short on housing for locums — physicians who would work in the Bow Valley on a temporary trial period before they commit to the community long-term.

One option is to establish a six-month or one-year relationship with a property manager so the community would have one dependable locum housing option for various locums to come through on a rotation.

Flowers says it's all about finding the right type of space and the right type of individual, but he recognizes that locums will have different needs when they move to the Bow Valley.

He's currently working with four or five physicians who are interested in moving to the Bow Valley and need help finding housing, and he's trying to recruit more.

"We do need physicians. So anyone who's looking from across Canada is welcome to reach out to myself. I'm happy to orient them to the community … and help however I can."