Following extensive in-person community consultations across Northern Ontario, including Timmins, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is reaffirming its pledge — and its mandate — to make health care better for the entire region.
At its Dec. 2, board meeting, Dr. Sarita Verma, NOSM president, provided feedback from consultations held with more than 1,000 northern Ontarians over the past few months.
“Since September, we’ve had the honour of meeting and hearing from people from Kenora and Sioux Lookout to Hearst and Parry Sound in our travels,” said Dr. Verma. “What we heard frequently and consistently was that the north needs more health resources in rural and remote areas, and the dedicated health-care workers in those areas, especially in the pandemic era, need urgent relief in order to keep going.”
NOSM will soon become Canada’s first stand-alone medical university.
"Its leaders are undertaking a bold strategic plan that not only addresses those issues: it charts a daring, socially-accountable path forward, in concert with Indigenous, Francophone and other partners across all regions in the north," says a news release.
“NOSM University will continue to emphasize its primary mandate to addressing the region's health-care gaps,” says Dr. Verma. “NOSM prioritizes the need for education in northern Ontario and leading population and health research to make sure that any health care provided is tailored specifically to the needs of the people in the region. NOSM University will continue to meet the needs of the north and we will recruit from its people – who train here in culturally relevant programs and stay here to practice.”
The Dean’s report for 2021 — A year in review. Meeting the NOSM Challenge — can be viewed here.
NOSM University will become the first stand-alone medical school in Canada and will remain in both Sudbury and Thunder Bay.
