Hiring new doctors ‘alleviates a lot of the pressure’ in small city
By Matt Prokopchuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Source: NWOnewswatch.com
Health care officials in Dryden are celebrating the latest doctor to start up their practice as the city sees an influx of new physicians.
Dr. Skylar Arpin recently joined the Dryden Regional Health Centre and Dingwall Medical Clinic after signing a return-of-service agreement with the hospital during her residency, Zoe Brenner, the physician recruitment, retention and relations coordinator with the health centre, said.
Arpin is the third new doctor to graduate from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University to start practicing in Dryden since August, 2025, with another — Dr. Joclyn Hron — slated to start either in late summer or early fall.
“Like most rural communities in northern Ontario, physician recruitment is an ongoing conversation,” Brenner said. “It’s created part-time and full-time jobs across the region, including here in Dryden.”
“Not only do these four new physicians mean more people in the Dryden area have access to a family doctor, it also alleviates a lot of the pressure on the rest of the existing physician team.”
Dr. Alison Lewis started August 2025, with Dr. Abeera Hassan coming on board three months later.
Brenner gave credit to her predecessor Chuck Schmitt who was the longstanding physician recruiter for the Dryden health centre.
The physicians are and will be practicing family medicine, Brenner said, but will also help out elsewhere in the hospital, such as in the emergency department, the maternity ward and assisting with operations.
“That also alleviates the existing team from having to fill all of those gaps,” she said. “They can more equally split the workload, which also helps with retention and work-life balance for the whole team.”
The four doctors are already known in the community, Brenner said, as they did most of their residencies in Dryden.
“They get to settle into the community and make connections, they get to know our hospital environment,” she said of the time they’ve already spent in the city during schooling. “They get to know the physician team, they get to know the staff in the hospital and develop those relationships.”
“I think that plays a really, really big role in recruitment and retention for our organization.”
In a social media post, the Dryden Regional Health Centre said that Arpin first came to Dryden as a third-year medical student, and spent eight months training before returning to do most of her two-year family medicine residency through NOSM University.
“Dr. Arpin has joined the Dingwall Medical Clinic as a family physician and will also support patient care throughout the hospital, including inpatient services, the emergency department and the fracture clinic,” the hospital’s post said.
“She will also help train the next generation of physicians as an engaged preceptor, educator and NOSM U faculty member.”
