The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), HealthForceOntario (HFO) and the North East and North West Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) joined forces to host Summit North: Building a Flourishing Physician Workforce on January 24.

With more than 130 health system partners in attendance, the summit focused on solutions in the short and long-term to help build a sustainable physician workforce, with a focus on family physicians in rural and remote communities.

Representatives from communities across the North, including Indigenous and Francophone, were in attendance with those from hospitals, family health teams, the North East and North West LHINs, NOSM, HFO, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and the Ontario Medical Association.

A key objective of the summit was to gather innovative ideas from a wide-range of Northern stakeholders including health professionals and administrators, policy makers, the medical school and municipalities. The summit was the result of on-going conversations between the LHINs, NOSM and HFO.

Participants had the chance to learn about innovative health workforce models in other jurisdictions, the current physician need in the North, and findings on how to improve health-care access and equity for rural communities. Most importantly, participants took part in lively breakout groups, committing to actions to support the creation a robust physician workforce in the North. Furthermore, a commitment was made to create a broad based Task Force to ensure that the actions from the Summit are realized.

Building health workforce capacity in the North and introducing innovative models of care will lead to increased access to care for patients and greater equity for rural communities.

Quotes

“It is only through the collaborative effort of all system partners that effective solutions can be developed to address persistent health workforce challenges.”

• Dr. Paul Preston, VP Clinical, North East LHIN

“The commitments from every individual and organization at the Summit is what will really lead to change.”

• Dr. Sarah Newbery, VP Clinical, North West LHIN

“NOSM was created with an explicit social accountability mandate to help improve the health of Northerners and this event was really about improving patient access to care across the North.”

• Dr. Roger Strasser, Dean and CEO of NOSM

“There’s an ongoing need to bring people together. We and our partner organizations are committed to continuing to work together to build on the momentum of this event.”

• Roz Smith, Executive Director of HealthForceOntario

Dr. Roger Strasser, Dean and CEO of NOSM, interviewed Dr. Dennis Lennox– recently retired Director of Rural and Remote Medical Services for the State of Queensland– so that participants might see what can be learned from his experience and how is it relevant to Northern Ontario. Watch the interview with Dr. Lennox here.

Media contact:

Hugh Mullally
Manager of Communications, Engagement and Stakeholder Relations
North West Local Health Integration Network
Phone: 807-684-9425 Ext 2013
Mobile: 807-472-4281
Email: hugh.mullally@lhins.on.ca

Michael Ward
Communications Officer
North East Local Health Integration Network
Phone: 1-866-906-5446 x 5200
Email: michael.ward@lhins.on.ca

Dave Mackey
Director, Community Supports
HealthForceOntario
Phone: 416-945-5911
Email: d.mackey@healthforceontario.ca

Highlights include a Tour of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s (NOSM) Board of Directors held its annual face-to-face meeting in Thunder Bay on November 30 and December 1, 2017. This two-day meeting provided a valuable opportunity for Board members to contribute their expertise and experience to a variety of meaningful conversations related to NOSM’s strategic priorities, including:

• The financial state of the School, sustaining NOSM’s success, and revenue generation.
• “Enshrining NOSM in the system,” as the School is more than just a medical school—it’s a government strategy in Northern Ontario focused on health and economic development.
• Connecting the entire geography of Northern Ontario as the NOSM campus involves over 90 communities engaged in teaching medical students, residents, and other health professional learners.
• A discussion NOSM’s research portfolio, which conducts and supports health research in Northern Ontario.
• An evaluation of NOSM’s current communications and public relations activities to evaluate how the School can optimize its strategies, as well as the internal capacity to support the recommendations.
• The governance and leadership model of the School, and habits of a highly effective Board.

• NOSM’s Postgraduate Education Office, which is responsible for the provision, administration and support of all postgraduate residency training programs in Northern Ontario.
• The accredited Medical Physics Residency Education Program which trains medical physicists—health-care professionals with specialized training in the medical applications of physics.

• The ways in which NOSM collaborates with its two academic health sciences centres, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre in Thunder Bay and Health Sciences North in Sudbury.

NOSM Board members toured the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute (TBRHRI) and the Cyclotron. A highly valued partner with the School, the TBRHRI is the research arm of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, and facilitates clinical research—particularly in the area of imaging—based on regional health care needs.

The Board received copies of two recent NOSM publications: The Scope, the School’s research newsletter, and the Pathways to Well-Being Report. Pathways to Well-Being was a one-day workshop hosted on June 28, 2017 by NOSM’s Indigenous Affairs Unit and Research Portfolio on the traditional territory of the Fort William First Nation. Bringing together youth, Elders, community leaders, and government representatives the Workshop focused on strategies to promote life and life skills, and identify strengths of communities to address the crisis of youth suicide.

At the formal Board meeting at the end of the second day, the Board approved Financial Statements from the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee for the period ending October 31, 2017.

“The NOSM Board of Directors is made up of a diverse group of individuals from across Northern Ontario,” says Dr. Moira McPherson, Chair of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Board of Directors and Vice President, Academic and Provost at Lakehead University. “It has been a pleasure to welcome my fellow Board members to our community and work together to further support the School’s continual pursuit of a healthier North.”

NOSM’s Board of Directors is comprised of 19 members who reflect the geographic and demographic diversity of Northern Ontario, including Indigenous, Francophone, and rural and remote communities. It is responsible for the corporate governance and fiscal management of the School. Membership of the Board of Directors is drawn widely to achieve the balance of skills and expertise required to enable the Board to fulfil its governance responsibilities. For a complete list of Board members, please visit our website at nosm.ca/board.

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s next Board of Directors meeting is scheduled to occur on March 21, 2018.