Docs to take up slack

The Ellsworth County Medical Center faces the same issues as other hospitals — including a shortage of physicians.

To ease the problem, the center’s chief executive officer Andrew Bair has announced the addition of contract doctors for a few months.

The contracted medical providers will work solely in the Ellsworth Rural Health Clinic with patients experiencing new acute/urgent needs that do not require emergency room care.

“We’ll do our best to align patients with their primary care provider,” Bair said,“but are happy that all our patients will be able to be seen promptly.

“In the meantime, we will continue to recruit for a permanent physician to meet the community requirements.

“I am optimistic about our ability to attract the right candidate to live in and serve this community.”

Bair said the growth of available local services and an increase in patient needs also have contributed to additional demand.

“Our goal is to provide timely, expert and genuine loving care,” he said.