The Moose Mountain Health Care Recruitment Committee is urging area residents to save the date and purchase tickets early for their gala for a good cause-the Nov. 29 dinner and Anders Magic show at Arcola's Prairie Place Hall.
"We've sold out the all of the years we've been doing this except one," says director Sheila Sim of Arcola. "One year, we went from 20 percent of tickets sold to 100 percent in four days. We urge people to book their seats in advance and by doing so, help us keep health care in the area."
"The evening begins with a cash bar, followed by dinner and entertainment, provided this year by Anders Magic, a comic magician and interactive entertainer. The food for the meal is donated by Carlyle businesses and one of the convening groups at Prairie Place has offered to cook and serve the meal, so it's a great cause to support, with every dollar possible going toward the recruitment and retention of medical personnel in the area. We'd also like to encourage people to book a table for their Christmas parties."
Even though the annual event has often been a sold-out success in the past, Sim says the recruitment committee cannot afford to rest on its laurels. "It never gets quiet," she says. "There's always something on the go. Even if it looks like we've got everything we need, we can never get comfortable. We've always got to stay on top of things when it comes to ongoing recruitment."
"Our group came together in 2006, when we were first told the hospital in Arcola was closing due to a nursing shortage. We managed to recruit one nurse immediately, and one nurse down the road. We've had to get creative. We especially encourage people that have grown up in the area or who have lived here before to come back."
Sim says one of the biggest challenges regarding physician recruitment is often retention. "That's where we've really been trying to step up the pace," she says. "For example, there are four homes in Arcola. One is owned by the Town of Arcola, one by the R.M. of Brock, one by the Moose Mountain Health Care Corporation operating as the Arcola Family Health Care Clinic, and one by us. The R.M. of Moose Mountain was kind enough to give us a mortgage, and we actually make monthly mortgage payments on that house, as part of our efforts to retain medical professionals for the area."
"We've shingled it and painted it and we've spent $1,500 to put in air conditioning. Those things all add up, and they're all part of our retention efforts," adds Sim.
Fellow committee member Lynn Brady of Carlyle agrees. "We're in a much better place right now than we were when we started, but we can't quit. It was so scary a couple of years ago when we had closures. We've worked together with Sun Country and we've worked together with our communities. It can't be a Carlyle thing, or an Arcola thing. We've had great support from both businesses and individuals throughout the area and we need that to continue."
"Physician retention is so important, because among other things, we still need to make sure that we have access to primary care. To do that, one of the things we need to do is to make our communities places that medical professionals see as a good place to live in and raise their families in."
"Supporting this event is one way to help make that happen."
The Moose Mountain Health Care and Recruitment Committee's fundraiser, featuring entertainment by Anders Magic, takes place Nov. 29 at Prairie Place Hall in Arcola, beginning with cocktails at 6:30 p.m., supper from 7-8 p.m., and Anders Magic taking the stage at 8:15 p.m.
Tickets are $45 and are available at Pharmasave in Carlyle at 453-4466, or by calling Lynn Brady at 453-2819, Sheila Sim at 577-8222 or Brenda Walter at 455-2500.
