The Heartland Health Region got an upgrade through Saskatchewan's program for foreign physicians.

Dr. Ayme Debesa-Padilla is a family doctor in Outlook after attending the Saskatchewan International Physician Practice Assessment (SIPPA) program.The main focus of SIPPA is to teach and assist international students on how to practice medicine.

The program started in 2011 and have 190 new family physicians that are currently practising/studying medicine in the province.

There has been a high demand for new doctors and physicians in Saskatchewan in the last 10 years. A total of 750 physicians have began persuing medicine since 2007, and that number will continue to grow as our population continues to rise in the ranks.

A total of 14 physicians are currently being trained right now, and if successful, will be eligible to practice in the fall.The program is taught at the University of Saskatchewan, and will continue to focus on keeping physicians in the province after graduating.

In the last 4 years, only 58% of graduates would continue to live in Saskatchewan, but it was calculated that 93% of graduates will stay in our province as of this year.