Foothills residents can breathe easier, with their chronic doctor shortage cured, at least for now.

Many residents in and around Okotoks are without family doctors, or have had to leave town for their non-emergent medical concerns as the Town just didn't have enough doctors to serve the rising population.

Newer medical offices like Pinnacle Medical Centres in Okotoks have definitely helped to relieve the issue, with three new doctors coming to town in 2017.

Okotoks Town Councillor Ken Heemeryck, says the committee we have to thank was comprised of an assortment of experts.

"So the committee was struck and it comprised of some political members, some doctors in the area and other health care professionals" Heemeryck says "Their primary goal was attraction and the retention of physicians into Okotoks."

The committee focused a lot on bringing Okotoks to the map, and to catch the eye of Physicians from around the world.

Heemeryck says, "There was a few components just to help pave the way for doctors to come; so a little bit of a knowledge about Okotoks from doctors that may not have been from Canada, and more knowledge about the sponsorship system that would take place in order for a doctor that wasn't a Canadian trained doctor to become eligible to practice in Alberta."

Heemeryck says this is a huge success for the committee, and they can now be pro-active about our rising population instead of reactive.

"It's been an absolute success by the committee that was set out on this task. For sure, they can say with confidence that we don't have a doctor shortage of any type for medical doctors in Okotoks."

The Committee will continue to meet and monitor the situation the ensure that Okotoks remains ahead of the game.  

For those local residents in search of a family physician or looking for someone more local, they can head to https://www.calgaryareadocs.com/ to find doctors who are accepting new patients.