This past weekend, Hal Mogg, Algoma Steel Hockey Tournament Director, presented a $17,000 cheque on behalf of participants in the Algoma Steel Hockey Tournament to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) Bursary Fund to establish a Bring a Doctor Home Bursary. The presentation took place following the conclusion of the tournament at the John Rhodes Community Centre with NOSM Founding Dean Dr. Roger Strasser and Manager of Development Gail Brescia in attendance to accept the financial contribution.

On behalf of NOSM and the School’s future students, Dr. Strasser expressed his gratitude for the generous donation. “Contributions to the Northern Ontario School of Medicine Bursary Fund are long-term investments in better health care for Northern Ontarians.” He continued, “We are very thankful to the participants of the Algoma Steel Hockey Tournament for this donation and their continued commitment to supporting students hailing from the North who wish to pursue their medical education in the North.”

The Bring a Doctor Home Bursary contribution will be matched, dollar for dollar, by the Ontario Government, and the bursary itself will continue to grow with each successive year that the tournament raises donations.

The Algoma Steel Hockey Tournament is open exclusively to employees and retirees of the company. Twenty-one teams from various departments, including three teams of retirees, participate in four divisions. In 2006, the tournament participants collected $10,500 in donations for students of the medical school, which, with a contribution from Algoma Steel and matching government funding, created the Algoma Steel Bursary in the amount of $100,000.

Participants in the Algoma Steel Hockey Tournament recognize the financial strain medical students can face. “The Bring a Doctor Home Bursary will help students reduce costs associated with earning a medical degree and, hopefully, encourage those hailing from Northern Ontario who are interested in a medical career to fulfil their dreams,” said Hal Mogg, Algoma Steel Hockey Tournament Director. “We believe this investment will strategically assist Sault Ste. Marie with long-term recruitment of family physicians to Northern Ontario,” he said.

A photo of Dr. Strasser accepting the donation from the Algoma Steel Hockey Tournament participants is available upon request.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and Lakehead University are pleased to announce the receipt of two grants from HealthForceOntario (HFO) in excess of $650,000.

The grants were awarded through HFO’s Interprofessional Care/Education or health-care projects that foster and build interprofessional teams.

The first grant of $464,663 will be dedicated to the establishment of a Northern Interprofessional Centre for Health Education (NICHE). The goal of NICHE will be to support northern, rural, remote, and Aboriginal health needs. It will act as a unifying entity to build on the current Continuing Health Professional Education (CHPE) initiatives of NOSM and Interprofessional Education offerings of Lakehead University, as well as other partners such as Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC), Laurentian University, Sudbury Regional Hospital, community colleges across the North, and both the North East and North West Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs).

Dr. Ian Newhouse, Dean of the Faculty of Professional Schools at Lakehead University, says “NICHE will offer health-care professionals in the North access to an outstanding educational experience which will fit their practice, lifestyle, and the needs of the community. The resources available through NICHE will better equip practitioners with the knowledge, understanding, and functions of team-based, collaborative, patient-centred care.” A cornerstone of NICHE will be the development of a Pan-Northern Advisory Committee, ensuring appropriate representation from all community partners and stakeholders.

The second grant, in the amount of $189,000 was awarded to NOSM’s Rehabilitation Studies Program for Facilitating Leadership in Interprofessional Care (FLIC). FLIC will enable NOSM to establish a process for providing mentorship and leadership to health-care teams wanting to advance the concept of Interprofessional Care (IPC) in their practice settings.

Dr. Wayne Bruce, Associate Dean, Continuing Health Professional Education, believes FLIC will provide a unique opportunity for health-care providers in Northern Ontario. “FLIC will allow health professionals to bring interprofessional education into the workplace, and will support the ongoing training and facilitation of health-care teams that are dedicated to developing their capacity to providing the best care possible to the people and communities of Northern Ontario.”

Unique Partnership Identifies Opportunities to Work Together to Improve the Health of People in Northern Ontario

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier today, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), the North East Local Health Integration Network (NE LHIN), and the North West Local Health Integration Network (NW LHIN), signed a Collaboration Agreement which will allow the three parties to collaborate in several areas to enhance their shared mandates of social accountability and community engagement.

During a media and information event held today, the three organizations with a vested interest in improving the status of the delivery of health care across Northern Ontario, highlighted their complementary resources, common approaches, and shared objectives that provide a solid foundation to work together.

The Agreement will see NOSM, the NE LHIN and the NW LHIN collaborate in such areas as:

• Research
  Both the LHINs and NOSM have a focus on research. There are opportunities for the partners to share clinical best practices and research into population health.
• Planning Activities
  A number of LHINs and NOSM planning activities can be enhanced through collaboration. For example, taking into consideration the input received by NOSM regarding local community needs in the development of the LHINs’ regional human resource planning initiatives will be invaluable.
• Population-Specific Projects
  The LHINs and NOSM will work together to address the unique needs of Aboriginal, Francophone, northern rural, remote and urban communities.
• Sharing of Skills and Expertise Between Organization
  The LHINs and NOSM will share skills and expertise in the areas of research and access to planning networks, as well as the Northern Ontario Virtual Library, among other opportunities.
• Education
  Both the LHINs and NOSM have a shared interest in facilitating ongoing education and professional development for health service providers in their communities.
  “Each of our organizations is committed to working together to improve the health of the people and the communities of the North,” stated Gwen DuBois-Wing, CEO of the North West LHIN. “We have a unique opportunity to have new conversations, explore new possibilities and to share skills, resources and expertise — all in the interest of the people we collectively serve.”

“This Collaboration Agreement offers a unique partnership for three organizations with a vested interest in helping to improve the delivery of health care in Northern Ontario. By sharing resources, expertise and project outcomes, we will be one step closer to achieving health-care programs that are reflective of the needs of Northern Ontarians,” said Rémy Beaudoin, CEO of the North East LHIN.

“A significant component of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s social accountability mandate is to build and cultivate relationships with health centres, hospitals and other health organizations across Northern Ontario to facilitate common goals,” said Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM’s Founding Dean. “This Collaboration Agreement between the Medical School and the LHINs of Northern Ontario is truly a historic one that will allow us to maximize the positive impact our organizations are having in the regions to which we’re accountable,” he continued.

The Collaboration Agreement provides the potential for NOSM and the two LHINs to build a sustainable health system with greater access to medical services at the community level, and better health outcomes for the people of Northern Ontario.

The North East and North West LHIN are two of fourteen regional networks in Ontario created to plan, integrate and fund local health services. The LHIN’s are responsible for leading the transformation of the local health care system and work closely with health service providers including hospitals, the CCAC’s, long term care facilities and consumers and their families to integrate health care practices into a model that works for the people of Northern Ontario.