A long time physician and health advocate in High River has retired.

Dr. Ron Gorshe has been in the area for over 40 years and worked on a provincial body tasked with attracting new doctors to rural areas.

He worked tirelessly to get a facility built that would attract new doctors to the area.

That facility is the Charles Clark Medical Centre.

"I think it supplied the foundation for the physicians in this town, we recruited almost 12 physicians since it went up and I still think it'll be the centre point for our recruitment and retention for the next, hopefully the next 10 or 20 years," he says. "But I know that the desire to practice in this town isn't just having the building, it 's the staff here, at the hospital, it's everybody, from the cleaning staff to the reception staff all the way up, they really like our hospital and they really respect it and they really look after it, that makes all the difference."

He says he'll have time for painting, fly fishing, golfing, playing with his grandkids and spending time with his wife who, he joked  hasn't seen him much over the years.

Dr. Sarah Makhdoom is one of the physicians Dr. Gorshe brought to the town.

"I am one of physicians that he brought here as a new grad and that was in 2003, he's been my mentor ever since and I'm ever so grateful to him introducing me to this beautiful community and now it's part of my family so it's been an amazing journey," she says

Dr. Keith Spackman spoke emotionally about his longtime friend and partner saying over the 40-plus years they worked together they never signed a paper, they just always got along.

Dr. Spackman joked that he and Dr. Gorshe delivered some of the younger doctors who were in attendance at Friday's retirement gathering.

He said of Dr. Gorshe "You can't retire from greatness."

(All photos courtesy Sarah Makhdoom)

 

Dr. Sarah Makhdoom in front of the Charles Clark Medical CentreDr. Sarah Makhdoom in front of the Charles Clark Medical Centre