Upcoming PAP Days
Appointments for PAPs are available to anyone needing one, The next upcoming days will be Jan 14th and Feb 5th. Please Call Front Reception to book. 780-865-3338
Hinton Healthcare Foundation Press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 23, 2025
Hinton Medical Clinic Welcomes New Physician to Our Team
The Hinton Medical Clinic is pleased to announce the addition of a new physician to our healthcare team. Dr. Dina Alasadi will officially join us in January 2026, marking an important milestone in addressing the long-standing physician shortage in our community.
For many years, Hinton has faced challenges in recruiting and retaining medical professionals. This new appointment represents a significant step toward improving residents' access to healthcare.
Why Physician Recruitment Matters in Rural Communities
Access to healthcare is a cornerstone of community well-being, yet rural communities like Hinton often face unique challenges in attracting and retaining physicians. Recruitment efforts ensure residents receive timely care close to home, reducing travel burdens and improving overall health outcomes. Every new physician strengthens our local healthcare system and supports the vitality of our region.
The Role of Volunteers and ARCH
The success of physician recruitment in Hinton is made possible by the dedication of volunteers and the Hinton Attraction and Retention Committee (ARCH). ARCH plays a vital role in welcoming physicians to our community, organizing tours, and helping new doctors integrate into local life. Their efforts create a warm, supportive environment that encourages physicians to build long-term practices in Hinton.
"Our volunteers are the heart of this process," said Fiona Murray-Galbraith, ARCH representative. "From greeting physicians during their first visit to showcasing the beauty and spirit of Hinton, we work hard to make them feel at home. This collaboration ensures that healthcare professionals see Hinton not just as a workplace, but as a community where they belong."
What This Means for Patients
If you do not currently have a physician:
Please call the clinic to ensure you are on our waitlist. Registration on the waitlist is first-come, first-served.If you already have a doctor in another community:
You may continue with your current physician. If you wish to transfer to a local doctor, you will need to join the waitlist and follow the clinic’s process.Is it first-come, first-served for appointments?
Not exactly. While the waitlist is first-come, first-served for registration, each physician builds their own practice and determines how they accept new patients.
We appreciate the community’s patience and support as we work to strengthen healthcare services in Hinton. For more information or to join the waitlist, please contact the Hinton Medical Clinic at 780-865-3338.
End -
Upcoming PAP Days
We have 2 upcoming PAP days available
Oct 30 & Nov 26th
If you are due Please call our office at 780-865-3338
Weekly Update Oct 6-10
Office Hours for the week are :
Mon to Thurs 9-5
Friday 9-1
Walk in : Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
Letter From the Hinton Healthcare Foundation
New Doctors are Coming to Hinton - So what happens next?
Great news! Hinton has Doctors who have officially signed with Alberta Health Services (AHS) to work in Hinton. But what does that actually mean, and when will you be able to see them?
Once a physician signs on, there’s a transition period before they begin practicing. First, they need to complete important steps like licensing and registration with Alberta’s medical regulatory bodies. This ensures they’re fully qualified and ready to provide care in our province.
Next, the physician decides how they want to practice in Hinton. They might join an existing clinic or choose to open their own. This flexibility allows them to find the best fit for their style of care and the needs of our community.
Relocation is also a part of the journey. The physician will move to Hinton, settle into their new home, and get to know the community. ARCH and HHF help make this process smooth by offering support with housing, community tours, and introductions to local healthcare teams.
Once everything is in place, the physician will begin seeing patients - either in a clinic, at the hospital, or both. Some also work in emergency care, which helps strengthen services at the Hinton Healthcare Center.
We understand that many residents are eager to know when they can book appointments or meet the new physicians. We are committed to keeping the community informed every step of the way. In the meantime, we kindly ask that individuals refrain from calling the clinic for updates, as they are unable to make any commitments until the physician’s setip process is complete.
Every new physician is a step forward for healthcare in Hinton. While it takes time to get everything setup this thoughtful process ensures that doctors are well-prepared and supported for long-term success.
To stay updates or support local healthcare, visit www.hintonhealthcare.ca
Weekly Update
Clinic Hours for the week of Sept 15th-19th
Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm
Friday 9am-1pm
Walk in:
Monday Sept 15th and Wed Sept 17th
Open letter to Hinton & area patients
We are writing to ensure that Hinton and area patients are aware that your local family physicians are not currently able to meet all the needs of the clinic and hospital, and what some of the effects may be for your health care.
Over the past several years, our family physician workforce has decreased, and at the same time we've struggled to recruit new doctors. We are currently short 3-5 family doctors. This is not unique to Hinton, but is affecting most rural communities. The effect locally has been felt mostly at the clinic so far: inability to get a family doctor, and difficulty accessing same-day clinic appointments. Your family doctors also do various types of hospital work, and the competing demands of these responsibilities is now exceeding 24/7/365. Your doctors are currently in varying stages of burnout, which is defined as a combination of exhaustion, difficulty engaging, and reduced effectiveness. We have realized (hopefully not too late) that doing everything, all the time, with inadequate physician resources, is no longer possible, and will simply accelerate our losses.
As a clinic, we are committed to maintaining access to primary care in Hinton, partly because primary care keeps patients out of the ER/hospital. We are working hard to improve clinic access using online booking (see www.hintonmed.com), as well as to reduce excessive paperwork burdens. We appreciate all efforts by patients to ensure requests for "form" completion are necessary and pre-completed to the best of your ability, and by employers to eliminate requests for "work notes". We also appreciate the patience and support you show the clinic staff during these challenging times for everyone.
As a physician group, we are carefully assessing how stretched each of us can go before breaking, and are working with Alberta Health Services to determine how to ration scarce physician workforce resources to best meet patient needs at the hospital. We are currently unable to cover all shifts in the ER, and your ER only remains open based on last-minute locum (short-term) physician availability. We are concerned about the posibility of ER closures, and the only reason we would contemplate that is to avoid losing more of us to burnout, creating even more closures - in some ways like choosing to cut off an arm, in order to save a life. We also anticipate changes to how lower-acuity patients are managed in the ER, particularly overnight. As physicians, we are acutely aware that burnout affects our nurses as well, and ask for your same patience and support as the hospital manages these issues.
The solution is multi-faceted (although recruiting more doctors is a critical step) and not simple or short-term, and we as physicians do not make those decisions. Primary care is significantly devalued in our system, and it will take considerable time to see improvements. We very much appreciate your patience and support as your physicians and local hospital work through this unprecedented situation for Hinton.
Sincerely,
Hinton family physicians group