Dr. Kiersten Amos has come back to her roots, joining the medical team at Stratford General Hospital, the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance announced on June 9, 2026. The homegrown physician is combining her deep ties to the community with a passion for teaching, a move that boosts local healthcare at a time when Ontario is grappling with a serious shortage of doctors.
Stratford General, part of the four-site HPHA that also serves Clinton, St. Marys, and Seaforth, now counts Dr. Amos among its more than 140 physicians. Her return is a win for a region that, like much of rural Ontario, faces uphill battles in attracting and keeping medical talent. Province-wide, at least 2.5 million people lack regular access to primary care, a number the Ontario Medical Association has warned could reach 4.4 million.
Dr. Amos’s journey back to Stratford highlights the HPHA’s efforts to grow its own future doctors. The alliance participates in Discovery Week, a program that brings first-year medical students from Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry into rural clinics and hospitals. The hands-on experience aims to show students the rewards of practicing in smaller communities, in hopes they will one day return to fill critical gaps.
The hospital’s ability to attract physicians like Dr. Amos also got a lift from the Stratford General Hospital Foundation, which in May 2025 wrapped up its In Our Hands Capital Campaign. The fundraiser blew past its $30 million goal, collecting over $31.4 million for new equipment, facility upgrades, and staff training. Community support like that helps make the 118-bed hospital, with its emergency department, surgical services, and mental health programs, an appealing place to build a career.
Perth County, home to over 38,000 people and located just 40 minutes from London, offers a blend of rural calm and cultural vibrancy that can sweeten the deal for doctors considering a move. For Dr. Amos, though, the decision was personal. Stratford is not just where she works, but the community that raised her, and her return is a reminder that sometimes the best way to heal a community is to come home.
