Expansion at medical school to help Aboriginal communities

People in the North will have better access to care with a new investment that will allow more medical students to train in northern communities.
The Ontario government is expanding in-the-field training at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (http://www.normed.ca/). The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund is providing $3.3 million to expand local medical centres and improve internet connections in 77 communities over the next three years.
This will allow medical students to see patients in small, rural and Aboriginal communities, while staying in close contact with their teachers by using videoconferencing and distance learning.
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine was the first new medical school to open in Ontario in 30 years. It focuses on the unique medical needs of people in rural and northern Ontario.
“By training medical students in the North, we’re helping to ensure that more doctors will work in the North. With these improvements, northern communities will benefit right away from the dedication and expertise of these medical students,” said Premier McGuinty.
“This investment will help the Northern Ontario School of Medicine deliver more effectively on its mandate to improve the health and well being of northerners,” said Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle, who also chairs the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.
“The Northern Ontario School of Medicine is making a real difference in improving access to care in North—and this investment will further improve access to care for families throughout the North. Better access means less travelling and being able to see doctors with more specialized training,” said MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan Bill Mauro.
Since October 2003, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund has funded more than 1,800 projects in Northern Ontario worth over $364 million.
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine has two main campuses—one at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and another at Laurentian University in Sudbury.
About 56 students are entering their final year. They’re on track to be the first graduating class of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in 2009.