Seven internationally trained doctors have signed resumption agreements requiring them to work in six rural communities in southwestern Manitoba due to a shortage of family doctors.
Doctors will practice in Killarney, Minnedosa, St. Louis. Rose, Russell, Rossburn and Shoal Lake will begin in the fall, said Tamara Kemp-Boulet, physician recruitment and retention coordinator at Prairie Mountain Health.
The agreement obliges them to remain in the community for four years.
Family doctors Shamsudeen and Olamide Usman visited Tri-Lake Medical Center in Killarney with one of their three children, Hibatullah (center). In August, the couple begins practicing family medicine at the hospital. (Attached)
Husband and wife Shamsudeen and Olamide Usman are among those hired by Prairie Mountain Health through the University of Manitoba's Medical Licensing Program for International Health Care Graduates.
The Usmans will complete the year-long training program this June in Winnipeg and then begin practicing family medicine at Tri-Lake Health Center in Killarney this August.
Although the doctors had been to the area many times with their three children, a recent visit to the hospital solidified their choice to practice there.
“It has recently been refurbished and now looks brand new and it is very well equipped,” Olamide told the Sun newspaper.
“I feel like we're going to love it because it already feels like home. The community has been very welcoming,” she said.
The International Medical Graduate Program receives more than 1,000 applications each year and only accepts 30 applicants.
The regional health department typically places seven to eight graduates into rural communities each year, Kemp-Boulet said.
Olamide, who graduated from medical school in 2018, and Shamsudeen, who graduated in 2017, moved from Nigeria to Ontario four years ago.
The doctors began working at Brandon Regional Health Center in 2024 as clinical assistants and were accepted into the University of Manitoba's training program last July.
Shamsudeen said working at Brandon Hospital has given them a better understanding of how to provide patient-centered care in Prairie Mountain Health's rural communities.
“It opened my eyes,” he said, adding that doctors can get to know their rural patients better by meeting them in health care settings and in the community.
“One of the things that really caught our attention when we first came to Manitoba in 2024 was how friendly the people were,” Shamsudin said.
He said Killarney was at the top of their list when it came time to confirm their deployment under a four-year resumption agreement with the regional health authority.
“It's a vibrant, beautiful little town,” he said. The doctors plan to live in the area for a long time and look forward to meeting their future patients and spending time at the lake with their children.
Doctors Karen Aquino and Moazzam Raza will be based in Minnedosa, Dr. Salima Arif will practice in the State. Rose, Dr. Porimol Debnath will be in Russell, and Dr. Ana Hernandez will provide care in Rossburn and Shoal Lake, Kemp-Boulet said.
Those communities experienced a physician shortage around November, she said, and recruiting efforts continue in other Westman areas.
Prairie Mountain Health provides on-site visits for physicians to get them accustomed to moving to an area that suits their needs. Kemp-Boulet said these visits could include visits to day care centers, schools, recreational activities, a health facility tour and meetings with council members and real estate agents.
“It's not just about recruiting. It has a lot to do with retention,” she said.
“We want these doctors to come to a rural community with their families and integrate.”
Killarney Turtle Mountain Mayor Janice Smith said she was delighted to welcome two more doctors, bringing their medical staff to five.
“This will mean that everyone in the area will have a family doctor,” she said.
“Our physicians that were here did a really great job of taking care of the community, but it will definitely take some stress off of them since Prairie Mountain Health actually gave us ER repairs 24-7.”
Like other Westman communities, Killarney struggles to recruit and retain health care workers, Smith said. More than three years ago, Tri-Lake Medical Center had one physician.
During the holidays, the Emergency Department will temporarily close for 24 hours from 8am on Christmas Day until 8am on Boxing Day, according to the online timetable. Three regular doctors were not available and a substitute doctor was calling in sick, Smith said.
The municipality, which has a population of about 3,650, will rely on substitute doctors from Virden and Winnipeg until the Usmans arrive in the summer, “and then we'll go from there,” Smith said.
She encourages other Westman communities to never stop recruiting doctors and nurses.
The hiring of physicians Aquino and Raza will bring the Minnesota Health Center's physician staff to six, according to Minnedosa Mayor Ken Cameron.
“There's always a need to have more… but for us adding two is a big deal and it helps a lot of people in the area,” he said.
“(It) takes the pressure off other hospitals like Brandon, for example… and should help alleviate some of the issues that are occurring in Neepawa as they open their new facility and look to staff there as well,” Cameron said.
During the holiday season, Minnedosa's emergency department was open 24 hours a day from Dec. 22 to 28, but closed for 48 hours from Dec. 29 to 31, an online schedule showed.
Whenever emergency departments close temporarily, it's because there aren't enough nurses or lab technologists, he said.
The struggle to recruit doctors or health care workers is “just the nature of the business,” he said, adding that it takes time to recruit new workers willing to move to rural areas.
He's encouraged when new doctors say they plan to stay in the community long-term.
Doctors of Manitoba President Dr. Nichelle Desilets said in a statement that she welcomes new doctors to southwest Manitoba.
“This is great news, capping off what has been a record year for physician recruitment,” said Desilets, who is also a family physician in Neepawa.
“Manitoba is doing better with recruiting, but when it comes to physician retention, our statistics are among the worst in the country. Retention must be a health system decision and goal for 2026,” she said.
According to the October 2025 Doctors Manitoba report, the province lost 8.3 doctors per 1,000 in 2024 compared to other provinces, the second worst rate in Canada after New Brunswick.
