Donate Now!
Homepage News, News, Uncategorized

Innovative app created by NOSM medical students aims to reduce opioid-related deaths

As the opioid death rate continues to rise in Northern Ontario, medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) have created an innovative app that improves access to Naloxone, a drug used to counter the effects of opioid overdose.

Jordan Law, MacKenzie Ludgate and Owen Montpellier have developed the Naloxone North app, a free and confidential service that ships a Naloxone kit right to your door. The Naloxone North app includes educational information about the drug as well as a detailed instructional video and approved information about the safe administration of Naloxone.

“Opioid-related death rates in many parts of Northern Ontario are higher during this pandemic and significantly higher than the numbers being reported elsewhere in Ontario,” says Mackenzie Ludgate, fourth-year medical student at NOSM and pharmacist.

“This app offers privacy and access to people who want to have a Naloxone kit on-hand, but who are uncomfortable facing the stigma or fear associated with asking for one in person at a pharmacy or clinic,” adds Owen Montpellier, another fourth-year medical student who worked on the app.

“The Naloxone North app also provides improved access for those living in remote, isolated or rural communities in Northern Ontario,” says Jordan Law, another fourth-year medical student and pharmacist who worked on the app. “As long as you have an Ontario Health card, you can order the kit through the app and request that it be shipped to your preferred location.”

The students followed the guidelines of the Ontario Ministry of Health’s Naloxone Program to meet the applicable policy requirements for safe Naloxone administration, education and distribution.

Advocacy-focused projects—like Naloxone North—were incorporated into NOSM’s fourth-year MD curriculum as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the early stages of the pandemic, NOSM faculty worked quickly to introduce a new curriculum that focused on building advocacy leadership skills at a time when students were not able to work on the frontlines.

Dr. Marion Maar, Associate Professor of Medical Anthropology and faculty advisor on the project, says, “The app provides a simultaneous opportunity to conduct research that will determine whether it is an effective way to support opioid recovery in Northern Ontario. I’m proud of the innovative ideas that NOSM students have implemented to address some of the longstanding issues in our region. During a difficult time of change, they embraced a new curriculum and are indeed making an impact.”

A NOSM research team has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to study recovery in the opioid crisis in Northern Ontario. They will leverage their work to support ongoing development of the Naloxone North app and study its uptake in rural, Francophone and Indigenous communities. The research is being conducted in collaboration with First Nations and led by Drs. Marion Maar, Darrel Manitowabi, Lorrilee McGregor, and Diana Urajnik, in partnership with the medical students. The medical students would like to thank Dr. Nicholas Fortino, emergency physician at Health Sciences North, for his guidance with the app.

Dr. David Marsh, Associate Dean Research, Innovation and International Relations at NOSM commends the students’ innovation. “They’ve developed a tangible solution to support opioid safety at a critical time in history. It’s an example of the many critical advocacy and social justice projects happening at NOSM to address health-care inequities that have become more and more pronounced by this ongoing pandemic.”

Statistics from Public Health Ontario (PHO) show the opioid-related death rates in many parts of Northern Ontario are significantly higher than the numbers being reported in other parts of Ontario.

The free Naloxone North app is now available for both Android and iPhone. Learn more at naloxonenorth.ca.

–30–

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is an award-winning socially accountable medical school renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and advocacy for health equity, NOSM relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples and communities of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities.

For further information, please contact: news@nosm.ca

Addressing the Gaps, Gallery, In the Spotlight

Donor supports transformation of physician workforce planning in Northern Ontario

Derek Day recently donated $210,000 from his late mother’s estate—the Estate of Ruth Day—to assist in transforming physician workforce planning in Northern Ontario and support the creation of a new Rural Generalist Pathway (RGP) at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM).

Since NOSM’s inception in 2002, its objective has been to graduate physicians and health-care professionals to meet the health needs across the region. With a total of 714 NOSM MD graduates to date, there is still a need for 300 family physicians and specialists in rural and remote Northern communities.

“It is important to me that I contribute from my mother’s estate to support organizations that will make a maximum impact,” says Derek Day. “There is a significant and immediate need for rural communities to gain access to quality health care more equitably and it is a critical time to implement long-term sustainable solutions. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is doing great work in this area and has a clear vision on how to get there.”

Derek has been a long-time supporter of NOSM. Since 2012, he has gifted more than $570,000 in trust through the estate. The funds have supported NOSM’s simulation labs and have established the Dr. William Bond Memorial Scholarship for medical students.

Medicine is personal to Derek’s family. His grandfather, Dr. William Lincoln Bond (born in 1865), was a physician in Toronto and made house calls into the rural exterior of Toronto. At the age of 12, William lost his father to typhoid. Later, he borrowed money from his mother to study medicine. He recalls his mother’s stories about how his grandfather kept a barn with a horse and wagon that he used to make house calls in bad weather. “At that time, it was the only practical way to get around,” Derek says.

With a new era of medicine evolving, Derek says he feels a great deal of satisfaction about contributing to society, knowing his gift means another student in Northern Ontario will gain access to medical school through the Rural Generalist Pathway.

The School recently launched its new strategic plan, The NOSM Challenge 2025.

Please consider joining The Challenge and donors like Derek Day who are making a difference in transforming health care in Northern Ontario. To make a difference, make your gift at nosm.ca/give.

Homepage News, News

Donor supports transformation of physician workforce planning in Northern Ontario

Derek Day recently donated $210,000 from his late mother’s estate—the Estate of Ruth Day—to assist in transforming physician workforce planning in Northern Ontario and support the creation of a new Rural Generalist Pathway (RGP) at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM).

Since NOSM’s inception in 2002, its objective has been to graduate physicians and health-care professionals to meet the health needs across the region. With a total of 714 NOSM MD graduates to date, there is still a need for 300 family physicians and specialists in rural and remote Northern communities.

“It is important to me that I contribute from my mother’s estate to support organizations that will make a maximum impact,” says Derek Day. “There is a significant and immediate need for rural communities to gain access to quality health care more equitably and it is a critical time to implement long-term sustainable solutions. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is doing great work in this area and has a clear vision on how to get there.”

Derek has been a long-time supporter of NOSM. Since 2012, he has gifted more than $570,000 in trust through the estate. The funds have supported NOSM’s simulation labs and have established the Dr. William Bond Memorial Scholarship for medical students.

Medicine is personal to Derek’s family. His grandfather, Dr. William Lincoln Bond (born in 1865), was a physician in Toronto and made house calls into the rural exterior of Toronto. At the age of 12, William lost his father to typhoid. Later, he borrowed money from his mother to study medicine. He recalls his mother’s stories about how his grandfather kept a barn with a horse and wagon that he used to make house calls in bad weather. “At that time, it was the only practical way to get around,” Derek says.

With a new era of medicine evolving, Derek says he feels a great deal of satisfaction about contributing to society, knowing his gift means another student in Northern Ontario will gain access to medical school through the Rural Generalist Pathway.

The School recently launched its new strategic plan, The NOSM Challenge 2025.

Please consider joining The Challenge and donors like Derek Day who are making a difference in transforming health care in Northern Ontario. To make a difference, make your gift at nosm.ca/give.

Pictured: Dr. William Lincoln Bond

–30–

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is an award-winning socially accountable medical school renowned for its innovative model of distributed, community-engaged education and research. With a focus on diversity, inclusion, and advocacy for health equity, NOSM relies on the commitment and expertise of the peoples and communities of Northern Ontario to educate health-care professionals to practise in Indigenous, Francophone, rural, remote and underserved communities.

For further information, please contact: news@nosm.ca

 

NOSM University