Page 138 - South Mississippi Living - June, 2016

the right candidates
How Coast Hospitals
RECRUIT DOCTORS
story by Lisa Monti
Finding a personal physician can be difficult for an individual, so consider what hospitals go through recruiting doctors for their medical staffs. Will the candidate be the right fit for
the staff? What are the lifestyle and family needs?
Lori Bickel, director of marketing and physician recruitment for Merit Health Biloxi, said when doctors
are considering a move to South Mississippi, they’re interested
in quality of life, waterways and beaches and access to nearby big city amenities. Job candidates often are South Mississippians who want to return home. Others have visited here and liked what they saw.
“Many physicians serve at Keesler Medical Center and we’ve been lucky to get some very good physicians when they’ve finished their military obligation,” Bickel said.
Recruitment includes sharing information and answering questions.
“We let them talk to the spouses to see if they’re interested in taking a look at Biloxi.”
The next step is setting up a visit. “Usually they spend a couple of days with us and have a tour of the community for a good overview of what the hospital is all about and what the community is like. Once we get them here, they say they’re amazed and that this is a beautiful place.”
Lana Robinson, director of physician recruitment for Singing River Health System, says some years 25 new doctors are recruited. Because each doctor is unique, her recruitment process is geared to the individual doctor and family needs.
After making a call to break the ice with a candidate, Robinson asks what the family needs are. “I send a packet with lots of community information and a copy of South Mississippi Living. Then I check back after a
week or so and if they’re interested, we bring them in to interview.” Kent Nicaud, vice president of
physician administrative services at Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, works with recruiting groups to identify candidates, screening the ones chosen to go before the physician committee. “If everyone agrees to move forward, I begin to negotiate,” he said. The process takes from 60 to 90 days.
One factor in recruiting is the aging medical staff, a large portion of which is 55 and older. “The primary care needs of the community are growing exponentially, and keeping community members at home for their specialty care is important. We try to work with and identify future physician leaders,” Nicaud said. “It’s sometimes a challenge to get a candidate to visit, but once we get them here, they bite at the bait. The Coast sells itself: the nice people, the community, the atmosphere.”
138 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • June 2016
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