Steven Sukkau
The Winnipeg Sun

For many rural Manitobans, finding a family doctor close to home has become one of the biggest health-care challenges of recent years. Prairie Mountain Health says new internationally trained physicians are now on the way to help strengthen medical care in several small communities across the region.
Prairie Mountain Health is sponsoring seven internationally trained doctors through Manitoba’s Medical Licensure Program for International Medical Graduates, a provincial initiative that helps foreign-trained physicians become licensed to practice family medicine in the province.
Prairie Mountain Health is bringing seven internationally trained doctors to rural communities including Killarney, Minnedosa, Ste. Rose, Russell, Rossburn and Shoal Lake to help ease family doctor shortages and improve access to local health care for rural Manitobans.
The doctors are expected to begin working in rural communities in the fall of 2026 after completing their training in Winnipeg. Communities receiving new physicians include Killarney, Minnedosa, Ste. Rose, Russell, Rossburn and Shoal Lake.
“These doctors have committed to working in rural communities within our region,” said Tamara Kemp-Boulet, PMH’s physician recruitment and retention coordinator, in a release. “It really takes cooperation between the province, the health region and local communities to make rural recruitment successful.”
Among those coming to the region are husband and wife Shamsudeen and Olamide Usman, who will begin practicing family medicine at the Tri-Lake Health Centre in Killarney. They will complete their one-year training program this June before making the move to the community.
Other placements include two doctors in Minnedosa, along with new physicians heading to Ste. Rose, Russell, and a shared role serving both Rossburn and Shoal Lake.

Read more on this story in this week's Russell Banner on page 2.