The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ray Hunt as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). Hunt will start in this role on November 2, 2015, and will be based at NOSM at Laurentian University in Sudbury.

In his role as CAO, Hunt will be responsible for leadership, strategic direction, corporate services, and management of the non-academic administration functions at NOSM. The focus of these functions is to collaborate with, support, and facilitate all parts of the School. In addition, he will ensure the efficient and effective strategic management of NOSM’s resources.

Hunt has gained extensive experience in administration and health care throughout his career. Since 2008, he has served as the CEO of the Espanola Regional Hospital and Health Centre (ERHHC), overseeing the operations of an integrated health campus that include acute, emergency, and long-term care, as well as a Family Health Team and seniors’ housing/assisted living. During this tenure, ERHHC saw positive changes with respect to program growth and improved access to medical services. In addition, Hunt secured capital funding that enabled the redevelopment of the hospital’s Emergency Department and other areas of the facility.

Prior to joining ERHHC, Hunt spent 24 years working in the Ontario Public Sector on a variety of initiatives that focus on Northern and rural health and social services. As Director of Family Health Team (FHT) Implementation, he was responsible for leading the creation of the FHT model in Ontario, including oversight of the province-wide implementation. Previous positions included managing the implementation of new physician payment models in Northern Ontario and oversight of the Northern Health Programs, including the Underserviced Area Program and the Northern Health Travel Grant.

Hunt is also a former member of the joint Ontario Medical Association (OMA)/Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) Physician Human Resources Committee, where he gained much insight into health human resources issues and capacity planning requirements to address future needs. Given his past experience managing the MOHLTC’s Underserviced Area Program (UAP), he was appointed to the OMA/MOHLTC Expert Panel to review changes proposed for UAP Reform. This work resulted in the new Northern and Rural Recruitment and Retention Initiative that was launched in 2010. Hunt is currently a board member of Health Force Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency, whose mandate includes the distribution of physicians and interprofessional providers to underserved areas of Ontario.

“The Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s ability to fulfil its mission of service to the Northern communities, relies on administrative practices that are sustainable, efficient, and effective,” says Dr. Catherine Cervin, NOSM Acting Dean. “I am delighted to welcome Mr. Hunt to the School in his role as CAO. NOSM’s entire Executive Group looks forward to working with him to ensure NOSM continues to thrive and remain at the forefront of community-engaged medical education and research.”

“Having spent the last 30 years working to help advance the health and well-being of Northerners, I am extremely excited to continue with this effort as a member of the NOSM team,” says Hunt, NOSM’s newly appointed CAO. “The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is a world leader in medical education, and I am thrilled to be part of a “made-in-the-North” solution to increase the supply of, and access to, doctors and other health-care professionals. Leading the important portfolio of NOSM Administration, I look forward to working with faculty, staff, learners, and partners in achieving NOSM’s social accountability mandate to improve the health of the people and communities of Northern Ontario.”

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is turning 10 this year!

To celebrate a decade of working together for a healthier North, NOSM invites all Northern Ontarians to Be Active with NOSM on September 23 by participating in 30 minutes of physical activity. Get together with your colleagues, friends, neighbours, and family to run, walk, skip, canoe-anything, as long as you’re physically active!

One of the many things that NOSM-trained health professionals learn during their training is the importance of preventative medicine. According to Ontario physician Dr. Mike Evans in his presentation 23 ½ Hours, one of the best preventative measures we can take to protect our health is to engage in 30 minutes of physical activity each and every day. Join NOSM on September 23 as part of your daily commitment to exercise to help celebrate a healthier Northern Ontario!

To learn more about what NOSM has been up to over the last ten years, kindly view the attached Fact Sheet.

Tweet us!
Tweet photos of your physical activity to @thenosm with #beactivewithNOSM, or email them to communications@nosm.ca for a chance to win healthy prizes! We also invite you to wish NOSM a happy anniversary by using #nosmturns10.

Learn more and register for free at nosm.ca/beactivewithnosm.

Be Active with NOSM

Who
Everyone is invited to participate! We encourage you to get your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbours involved.

What
Any physical activity for 30 minutes. Walk, run, skip, bike, go to the gym, play team sports, ride horses, anything! We also recommend taking advantage of the many activities available to us is Northern Ontario, including swimming, water skiing, canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding, beach volleyball, hiking, and more!

When
NOSM officially kicks off its Be Active with NOSM Campaign on Wednesday, September 23 at 10:00 a.m., but we invite you to be active at any time that is convenient for your schedule that day. We also invite you to make exercise a daily habit now and into the future!

Where
Across Northern Ontario! We invite you to be active on your own or with a group wherever you are, or join a group at any of the following locations:

Sudbury

Laurentian University
935 Ramsey Lake Road
Sudbury, ON
Athletic Field

Thunder Bay

Lakehead University

983 Oliver Road
Thunder Bay, ON
The Hangar

Communities across the North
Visit nosm.ca/beactivewithnosm to see if there are events near you.

Cost
Free!

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Yesterday officially marked the first day of classes for 64 new medical students at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), following a week of travel to learn about the geographic, social, cultural, and linguistic diversity of Northern Ontario.

Orientation Week-or O-Week, as it is affectionately referred to at NOSM-is about so much more than helping students find their classes. NOSM’s newest group of students spend the week becoming immersed in the cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity of the North. This is their introduction to NOSM’s wider campus of Northern Ontario, where they will live and learn for the next four years.

On Tuesday, August 25, NOSM students came together in Sudbury and travelled by bus to Nipissing First Nation. Warmly welcomed by a song from the Little Iron Drum Group, the students broke bread with community members, received an Elder teaching on smudging, and heard advice and encouragement on behalf of the Chief and Council at Nipissing First Nation. Finally, Dr. Brenda Restoule, NOSM faculty member, Aboriginal woman, and psychologist in the area shared information with the students about frameworks developed for First Nations’ Wellness.

On Wednesday, August 26, the MD students toured the Temiskaming Hospital, Haileybury Family Health Team, and the Centre de santé communautaire du Témiskaming. There, the students spoke with NOSM faculty and graduates working in the area about the realities and benefits of practising rural medicine with both French and English patients.

“I was a dietitian for 10 years before I applied to NOSM,” said Dr. Nichole Currie, NOSM graduate and faculty member during the tour of the Haileybury Family Health Team where she now works. “I did the third year of my MD in Temiskaming Shores and absolutely loved it. I love living in a small, rural setting, and I knew that I wanted to do family medicine with obstetrics. It was important for me to raise my family in a small town, but I love that it’s progressive, too.”

Finally, the students returned to Sudbury by bus for the NOSM Oath Ceremony. This ceremony introduces students to the obligations and high standards of their newly chosen profession. The NOSM Oath Ceremony familiarizes students with the Physician’s Oath (the modern version of the famous Hippocratic Oath), its meaning and importance, and begins their four years of medical education with the principles of the Oath in mind.

NOSM continues to meet its social accountability mandate, innovative education and research for a healthier North.  Admission to NOSM’s MD program is highly competitive, and members of this incoming class have been selected from over 2000 applicants with a class mean GPA of 3.83 (measured on a 4-point scale). Demographic characteristics of this class include:

• 89% are from Northern Ontario
• Remaining 11% are from rural and remote parts of the rest of Canada
• 8% are self-identified Aboriginal
• 20% are self-identified Francophone

Students will now get down to work and immerse themselves in all things NOSM-state-of-the-art smart classrooms and learning technologies, an integrated, collaborative approach to education, and distributed, community-based placements across Northern Ontario. Each of these elements helps to ensure that NOSM produces high-quality physicians with an appreciation for the unique health-care needs of Northern Ontario.