After a flood of applicants hoping to become patients of the husband and wife team of Dr. C.F. DeWit and Dr. Joanne Barker, physician recruitment committee member Aggie Giovannini began making appointments for people to begin seeing the docs this week.

The pair became the newest family doctors to join the Rose City since the physician recruitment committee began meeting a little under two years ago. As well as DeWit and Barker, three other doctors have been recruited in that time and more might be coming soon, said Giovannini.

"I actually toured one today," she said. "I think we've done reasonably well."

But there is still more to be done, she noted.

"With the addition of these two, Welland still needs 13 family physicians," she said.

The pair of docs will each receive $50,000 over three years as part of the city's physician recruitment incentives plan for new medical equipment or other work expenses.

The initial response to the doctors' arrival was strong, with an initial load of about 1,500 applications, said Giovannini. She said now the number is so big she hasn't been able to tally it.

Elderly patients who are now travelling and people without family doctors are being given priority, she said. The contract with the city stipulates the doctors take on a minimum of 1,380 patients each, as per Ministry of Health guidelines for full-time doctors. But Giovannini believes that the two will take a bigger client load.

The doctors are setting up their practice at the Northtown Medical Associates building at the corner of Thorold Road and Prince Charles Drive. Applications to be a patient can be picked up at the Northtown Medical Associates, Lewis & Krall Pharmacy, Welland-Pelham Chamber of Commerce and Welland Civic Square.

A copy of the application can also be downloaded from the main page of the city's website at www.welland.ca. Once completed, forms must be returned to Northtown Medical Associates.