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Niagara is on the hunt for family doctors. A new medical centre in downtown Thorold is hoping to alleviate the chronic shortage of doctors in the area.

Dr. Preston Zuliani and his team’s new clinic has been open for over a month.
“We have three doctors and a chiropractor and a massage therapist now.” Dr. Zuliani, family doctor.

That’s enough for now, but according to the Thorold native, the clinic has already attracted over a thousand new patients since opening. There are currently 260 family physicians practicing in Niagara but about 40 of them are over the age of retirement.

The region has a full time physician recruiter. Since 201, 50 new doctors have setup shop in Niagara but 53 doctors have either retired or moved out of the area.

Dr. Andre Blanchard was one of 9 family doctors recruited to work in Niagara last year. The St.Catharines native graduated from McMaster’s medical school in Niagara. He is one of two new doctors a the Thorold family medical centre and says a lot his patients used to visit walk-in clinics.

The medical centre is accepting new patients and plans to bring in about 4 new physicians in the future.