Whereas there is a provincial crisis in health care that is even more pronounced in rural BC, and an estimated one in five BC residents do not have a family physician or primary health care provider; And whereas rural BC is at increased risk of Emergency Room closures due to lack of health care providers: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby the provincial government to address the shortage of physicians and primary care providers in rural BC by providing financial support and implementing policy changes to facilitate additional training opportunities for health care professionals, permitting allied health care providers i.e. chiropractors, physiotherapists, massage therapists to provide additional services and to establish incentives to recruit health care professionals to rural BC, such as loan forgiveness and signing bonuses with a minimum time commitment.
