By Barb McKay

A new doctor will be joining Kincardine hospital’s emergency department this summer.

Dr. Michael Ballantine has been recruited by the South Bruce Grey Health Centre and will divide his time between the ERs of the Southampton and Kincardine hospitals.

“We are absolutely delighted to have him coming here,” said SBGHC CEO Paul Rosebush.

Peggy Zeppieri, physician recruitment specialist for Bruce Power, which has partnered with Kincardine and Saugeen Shores to bring doctors to the area, told The Independent last week that Ballantine is currently completing his residency at the University at Western Ontario and will join the SBGHC once he completes his exams in May. The ER doc will take most of his shifts in Southampton and will take on at least three shifts each month in Kincardine.

Zeppieri said Ballantyne’s wife, Nicole Collins, is a Kincardine girl and the couple is eager to return to the area.

“We’re bringing them home,” she said. “They want to be in a small community where they can raise their children.”

Rosebush said that the Kincardine’s emergency department is well-staffed with doctors.

“I would say we do very well in Kincardine.”

He added that ER doctors at rural hospitals have an opportunity to receive grants through the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care if they sign agreements that commit them to keeping the emergency department open on a 24/7 basis.