As soon as Cumberland County's doctor recruitment committee heard there might be new money available to help fund community recruitment efforts, they got on the phone.

The team has been aggressively applying for every grant possible over the last year, and it was the first to receive $5,000 from a new Doctors Nova Scotia initiative.

A new collaborative care clinic expected to open next year in New Minas is receiving praise from Doctors Nova Scotia.

Valley Crossroads is expected to offer primary care as well as a number of services such as massage therapy, psychology and physiotherapy.

Physicians fed up with writing sick notes for employers are turning to a 12-year-old Doctors Nova Scotia form letter that bills the employer for the time it took to write the note and requests they change their policy on sick notes.

Dr. Gary Ernest, the president of Doctors Nova Scotia, said employers requiring employees to get sick notes for minor illnesses has been a problem for a long time.