Although Grande Ronde Hospital and Clinics has had remarkable success bringing new providers into our organization (more than 40 in three years), every great once in a while we still get asked why it’s so hard to keep providers here in Union County. While getting them here is our responsibility, keeping them here takes the entire community.

We have a saying here at GRH that rural medicine is not for the faint of heart. It’s a different kind of practice that involves relationship building with patients, co-workers and community. To hear what some of our current providers have to say on about practicing rural medicine, check out our provider recruitment video posted under careers on our website. Rural medicine is not for everyone; but for a select few, it’s everything. Those select few are who we are looking for — and they are not easy to find.

After spending many years and thousands of dollars in obtaining their degrees, most newly trained providers are looking to stay in more urban areas where they’ve been working and living during residency. In fact, a 2015 study conducted by Merritt Hawkins, the nation’s leading physician search firm, shows less than two percent of final-year medical residents are interested in a community with a census between 10K and 25K. That less than two percent are being courted by hundreds of hospitals and health systems every single month during a severe national healthcare worker shortage.

Taking all of that under consideration, GRH has done phenomenally well in provider recruitment across specialty and primary care. It takes tenacity, creativity and a belief on our part that we have the best of everything life has to offer right here in Northeast Oregon. We’ve used a more personal, one-on-one approach to find and reach out to those looking to settle in a family-friendly community. If we are successful in bringing those new providers here for a site visit, our chances are greatly improved in signing them.

“They always surprised at how atypical we are as a Critical Access Hospital when they see firsthand all GRH has to offer them with regards to tools, facilities and resources. As one of our doctor’s likes to say, we fight above our weight class here. Providers want to not only keep their skills, but expand them. And they like to keep busy,” says President and CEO Jeremy Davis.

Successfully retaining these new providers also has a profound impact on the economic health of the entire community. A few years ago, the American Medical Association conducted a national study to estimate the total economic impact by patient care physicians. That report found that — on a national average — one patient care physician supports an additional 14 jobs for their community. We also know that here in Union County, for every 10 full-time jobs at GRH, an additional six full-time jobs are created locally.

The bottom line is that supporting your local hospital and local providers benefits all of us, not just GRH. Once we get them here, we need our community’s support to keep them here. Keeping them here takes all of us to welcome them, keep them busy; while making them and their families feel they are part of our community. They want your business, and GRH strives to earn that business by providing the best health care experience possible.

To learn more about recruiting rural and meet the newest providers to join the GRH team, watch for the upcoming issue of Life & Health in your mailbox this May.