A family physician who has been making the rounds in the Listowel area for the past six months has decided to become a permanent community member.
Dr. Arooba Talat is joining the Listowel Clinic Family Health Organization and will also be in the regular rotation in the emergency department at Listowel Memorial Hospital as of July 1. Her recruitment was a joint effort by Listowel Wingham Hospitals Alliance, the Listowel-Wingham and Area Family Health Team, and the Listowel Clinic Family Health Organization.
“I am very happy to be joining this community in a permanent way,” said Talat. “My earliest experiences in Listowel and Wingham made a strong impression on me. Over time, working in both the clinic and the emergency department confirmed that this is the kind of community where I want to build my practice and care for patients over the long term. My family and I feel very fortunate to be making our home here.”
Dr. Talat earned her medical degree in Pakistan. She got her first taste of life in Listowel and Wingham when she completed a medical observership in the area in 2022. She went on to complete her family medicine residency through Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, training in Hanover. Over the past six months, she has been providing coverage in both the clinic and emergency department in Listowel.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Talat to our community and to the clinic team," said Robin Spence-Haffner, executive director of the Listowel-Wingham and Area Family Health Team. "Her decision to practice in both primary care and emergency medicine reflects the kind of full-scope, community-focused care that is so important in rural communities. This recruitment is also a strong example of what can happen when learners are welcomed early, supported well."
Dr. Talat will be assuming care for roughly 500 of Dr. Seary's patients. Letters will be mailed to patients later this week notifying them of the change ahead of Dr. Seary's planned departure. People in the Listowel area without a family doctor are encouraged to register with Health Care Connect, Ontario’s program to help connect people with primary care.
Over the past two years, the Listowel Wingham Hospitals Alliance has recruited three new primary care physicians and two specialty physicians.
