Strengthening Primary Care Across Manitoba

The Challenge

Manitoba, like many Canadian provinces, has faced persistent challenges in recruiting and retaining family physicians Multiple clinics across the province were operating with significant physician shortages, leading to reduced access to primary care, increased burden on emergency departments, and burnout among existing medical staff.

What CloserMed Did

Between July 2024 and August 2025, our Recruitment Agency successfully placed 16 highly qualified family physicians across 8 medical clinics throughout Manitoba. This comprehensive recruitment initiative has the potential to provide primary care access to 24,000 patients in both urban and rural communities, bringing experienced practitioners to areas with critical physician shortages.

CloserMed's Approach

Each clinic has its own specificities, so we carried out a detailed discovery with each of them, taking time to understand their culture and the needs of the local patient population. We sourced GPs mainly internationally, but also from other provinces in Canada.

We targeted countries with recognised high-quality medical training, while also choosing countries with lower demand for GPs so we do not create shortages elsewhere.

We qualified GPs based on both their soft skills and their clinical profile.

Outcome

• 16 Family Physicians: Experienced practitioners committed to long-term practice
• 8 Clinics Strengthened: Spanning urban centers and rural communities
• 24,000 Patients Served: Expanded access to quality primary care
• Urban & Rural Coverage: Addressing shortages across diverse communities

Spotlight: Easton Place Clinic case in Selkirk

The Clinic: Easton Place in Selkirk

Easton Place is a brand new, state of the art facility built with whole body wellness in mind.

Encompassing family medicine, walk-ins, women's health, dental care, pharmacy, audiology, and more, our clinic provides a wide array of healthcare services in a single convenient location.

• Located in Selkirk, Manitoba
• Serving 10,000+ patients
• Full-service family medicine clinic

Five Family Physicians placed

• Dr Sze Lynn: Family medicine specialist with expertise in preventive care and chronic disease management. Joined Easton Place in August 2025, bringing compassionate care to the Selkirk community.
• Dr Kemejika Weli: Experienced family physician focused on holistic patient care and community health. Started at Easton Place in August 2025 with a commitment to accessible healthcare for all.
• Dr Esther Amankwah: Board-certified family physician with 15 years of experience. Specializes in women's health and pediatric care, dedicated to building lasting patient relationships.
• Dr Isaac Ajongba: Family medicine expert with special interest in geriatric care and mental health. Brings innovative treatment approaches and patient-centered care philosophy to the clinic.
• Dr Segun Bakare: Passionate about preventive medicine and patient education. Fluent in English and Spanish, committed to providing culturally sensitive care to diverse patient populations.

Impact on Patients

• 6000 new patients rostered and with a family doctor
• Extra capacity available for 3000 patients
• Improved continuity of care
• Reduced Wait times

Fostering collaboration between clinics

CloserMed is guided by an approach that fosters collaboration between clinics. We believe that there is more to gain from working together than competing. With this in mind, we arranged a meeting between the management teams of Easton Place Clinic and Beausejour Clinic, a nearby clinic where we have also placed physicians.

Today, both clinics are exploring opportunities such as:

• Sharing clinic space
• Physicians from one clinic covering gaps in the other
• Cross-referring patients to doctors with specific special interests
• And potentially more initiatives to strengthen collaboration