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Baiting the hook. Idaho fishing for qualified doctors

Many aspiring doctors envision a life of golf vacations and fancy cars.

But not Dr. Rob Wolfe. While his classmates were landing lucrative urban specialist positions and paying off mortgage-size student loans, he practiced medicine in a sparsely populated corner of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Wolfe’s job was substantially less prestigious, and less lucrative, yet he never looked back. Now he’s treating eastern Idaho patients, thanks to aggressive recruiting from Teton Valley Hospital and Surgicenter in Driggs.

Landing a doctor like Wolfe is no small feat for rural hospitals. Most medical students aim for specialty practices in urban centers, and few doctors want to work longer hours in isolated settings for lower pay. That often leaves rural hospitals struggling to recruit. Roughly 90 percent of Idaho meets the federal definition of a “health professional shortage area.”

But several programs strive to give them a leg up. Teton Valley Hospital recently landed a federal grant to recruit Wolfe and help him set up a practice in Victor. The state Office of Rural Health helps hospitals secure federal resources and awards grants to improve medical care in underserved areas.

By COREY TAULE
[email protected]

Full Story thanks to Headwaters News: http://www.headwatersnews.org/pr.doctors072506.html

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