Kawartha Lakes to lose two more family doctors in June

The job of doctor recruitment for the Kawartha Lakes Health Care Initiative (KLHCI) has just become more challenging with the loss of two family doctors who will be closing their practice located in Lindsay in June of 2023.

The KLHCI confirmed in an exchange of emails with the Advocate that the husband-wife team of Dr. Michael Gogan and Dr. Kristen Ralph, who share a family medicine practice on Angeline Street North, will be transitioning to new medical positions later this year.

The couple, who began practice in Lindsay in October of 2018, were recruited by KLHCI and introduced to the public with considerable fanfare four and a half years ago. Together, they have built a thriving family practice that has over 1,100 patients currently on the roster.

Fortunately for the community as a whole, both doctors will be staying in the area, with Dr. Gogan moving to full-time in the Ross Memorial Hospital emergency department and Dr. Ralph continuing to provide obstetrical services in Peterborough.

Cindy Snider, the recruitment and retention director for the KLHCI, said the not-for-profit committee “is working hard to find a replacement for them.”

According to Snider, the city is currently short between 15-18 doctors, leaving 6,000 residents without a family doctor and another 25,000 individuals having to travel outside the city for primary care. See this story for more background on the KLHCI efforts to address the shortage.