By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- As Massena Memorial Hospital is trying to recruit more doctors, the CEO says talk in Washington of reforming the H1-B visa program could make it difficult to bring physicians to town.

MMH CEO Robert Wolleben told the Town Council on Wednesday that they are seeing higher patient volumes and are recruiting to compensate.

On Tuesday in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump announced an executive order to review the program. He claims it takes jobs away from Americans and fills them with low-wage foreign workers. The intent of the program is to bring in foreign workers with advanced degrees when qualified Americans can’t be found. More details are at goo.gl/AHnKal.

“They (doctors) are going to get more expensive,” Wolleben said.

The CEO noted that MMH has recently brought on a new internist and an emergency room medical director. They are also looking at bringing in an ear, nose and throat doctor, a general internist nephrologist and a pulmonologist.

He said the ENT doctor is “very hard to come by. I think there’s only 1,600 in the country, very small, under 2,000.” He said that doctor has a subspecialty in head and neck plastic surgery, which will be good to have around since there has been “40 percent increase in facial melanomas in the last few years.”

The pulmonologist would be the first in Massena in some time.

“There hasn’t been a pulminologist at Massena Memorial for a number of years,” Wolleben said.

He said they are also in talks with orthopedists, but it’s not certain if those will come to fruition.

Councilman Albert Nicola wanted to know about physician retention.

“The other side is retention. Are we retaining physicians?” he asked. “Do you see that as a problem in the future?”

“There is always somebody else whispering in our doctors’ ears,” Wolleben said, and noted that three doctors have left since he started.

“That’s not always going to be the case. There’s a tremendous shortage of physicians,” he said.

He said he tries to pitch to potential doctors that the area offers a “unique group of patients.”

“It’s a small town where you get to know your patients and you’re well-respected. You’re close to big cities,” he said.