About three dozen new doctors have been recruited to Fairbanks during the past few years, but the challenge will be continuing that pace in the years ahead and attracting specialists who are in demand throughout the country.

In addition, there are more than three dozen doctors in the area who are in their late 50s and older who are likely to retire during the next five years. The community is going to have to find replacements.

These are among the findings in a new community needs assessment conducted for Fairbanks Memorial Hospital by the Coker Group, a Georgia-based consulting firm.

In Fairbanks, there are many family practice doctors who are handling medical issues that would be dealt with by specialists in the Lower 48.

The shortage of general internists, both here and across the U.S., has contributed to this situation, the Coker study states. There are 41 family practice physicians in Fairbanks, while a standard physician-to-population ratio would state that is about twice as many as are needed in a town this size.

“There is currently a surplus of family physicians but a deficit of general internists in the Fairbanks service area. Given the limited supply of general internists nationally, we have recommended that some of the IM (internal medicine) deficit be filled with family medicine physicians,” it states.

Because of current needs and the prospect of retirement by some doctors, the report recommends that five family practitioners be recruited during the next five years, along with five internists and five pediatricians.

There are 11 internists in Fairbanks, while the physician-to-population ratio suggests that we could use more than twice that number.

One difficulty in recruiting internists is that most of the doctors who go into that field go on to develop a medical sub-specialty.

The study, which is under review by the hospital and local doctors, suggests that in the next five years Fairbanks will face a need for a variety of specialists.

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HEALY PROJECT: As expected, the consultants preparing the long-range electricity plan for the Railbelt have dropped their opposition to restarting the 50-megawatt Healy Clean Coal Project that GVEA wants to put into operation.

The draft $600,000 report for the Alaska Energy Authority released late last year stated the plant should not be restarted “until such time as it becomes clear where CO2 regulations are enacted and the resulting economic impact on the plant can be determined.”

The federal government is considering plans for taxes or fees on carbon dioxide emissions, but no one knows how long that will take or what the final cost will be.

The consultant, Black & Veatch, ran the numbers again after various issues were raised through public comments. The changes in the assumptions used have led the company to list the Healy plant as a “preferred resource” in the utility report.

The report will not be complete until it is approved by the board of the Alaska Energy Authority, but that could happen later this month.

The Alaska Energy Authority has the same board of directors as the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, another state entity.

AIDEA, the owner of the Healy coal plant, is in the process of selling it to the Golden Valley Electric Association and doesn’t agree that it should remain in mothballs.

As part of the public comment period on the draft report, the agency sent a six-page letter to the Alaska Energy Authority, giving numerous reasons for why the Healy plant makes sense, at least for the short term.

“Given the proven operating experience and timely availability of HCCP, it would be prudent to continue the development of HCCP until CO2 legislation is enacted and until its applicability to HCCP is determined,” wrote Ted Leonard, the executive director of AIDEA.

In leaving out the Healy plant, the consultants assumed carbon dioxide emission taxes would happen relatively soon.

They also assumed, Leonard wrote, that Alaska would have 50 percent of its electrical generation from renewable sources in a “timely” manner.

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WATCH YOUR STEP: A team from the Chena-Goldstream Fire and Rescue plans to compete today in the 15th Annual Scott Firefighter Stair Climb at the Columbia Center in Seattle.

The idea is to race up 69 flights of stairs while wearing firefighter rescue gear that can weigh from 35 pounds to 80 pounds, depending upon the size of the person. They can change air tanks at the 40th floor, but the ideal way to finish is within 15 minutes.

This event is to raised money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Donations to support the Chena-Goldstream firefighters can be made via PayPal at cgfr.com/stairclimb.

They are joining more than 1,500 firefighters from 180 departments on the stairs.