As of September, at least 1,200 more Dufferin residents will have access to a family physician.

Dr. Enza Gucciardi, who completed part of her residency at Headwaters Health Care Centre and acted as a locum for Dr. Amy Horvat, will join the Highlands Health Network clinic on Sept. 1.

She will be the seventh physician to have joined Highlands in the past four years. Five of the seven had done at least part of their residency there. Six of them are female.

Dr. Gucciardi is a graduate of the University of Toronto. She attained her medical degree in Ottawa in 2006, and will have completed her two years' apprenticeship as a family physician along with extensive Emergency Room exposure in both Toronto and Orangeville.

It might be fair to say that the new doctor actually began her medical career as a teenager.

"I volunteered while in high school. It was something I always liked," she said in an interview as she signed documents at Highlands Tuesday.

But, as a young person from the city, why did she choose to come to Orangeville?

She said she chose a rural program, as the practice would be more comprehensive. The program meant working a year in the city and a year in the country. Orangeville happened to be close by.

On coming to Orangeville rather than to Grand Valley or Shelburne, Dr. Gucciardi said she was told about the facilities there but preferred Orangeville because of the distances. (She'll also be a regular in the Emergency Room.)

The seventh doctor for Highlands comes amid Shelburne's concerns over what appears to be the physicians search committee's preference to place physicians in Orangeville.

That, says Dr. David Scott, is a misunderstanding. He said Tuesday that the numbers criterion is 1:1380. By that measure, both Orangeville and Shelburne are underserviced.

He said every physician who comes is provided with literature and other information, and is offered a tour of facilities in all three Dufferin urban areas.

"There's literature and discussion. (But) most want a group practice - a few more opportunities - and the close hospital affiliation."