Ryerson University and the City of Brampton partner to expand healthcare education

BY PAUL JUNOR

The City of Brampton released that there will be a $1 million planning grant towards a future medical school. The announcement was made at www.brampton.ca/EN/City-Hall.

The funding matches $1 million that the Ontario government has already allocated towards this grant proposal. Mohamed Lachemi, President and Vice-Chancellor of Ryerson University (RU) states in the press release, ”We are proud to have Brampton as our partner in expanding healthcare education in Ontario and we are grateful for the show of support. The new medical school will not only dramatically enhance the healthcare system in Brampton, it will also build a foundation for a diverse pool of talent to thrive in healthcare and healthcare-related sectors across our province.”

There is no doubt that the presence of a medical school in Brampton will attract students from across Canada, and the world to study at one of the most multicultural cities in Canada. Mayor Patrick Brown welcomes with open arms the news of this proposal. He states, “We welcome the expansion of more postsecondary opportunities to meet the needs of Brampton’s young, diverse and rapidly-growing community. This opportunity to invest in the Ryerson School of Medicine has come at a significant time for the city, as COVID-19 has intensified our need for equitable health care services.The Ryerson School of Medicine in Brampton will ensure that the next generation of health care practitioners can train locally in our city, in programs  like disease prevention and health promotion; home care; and acute care hospital services. Historically, Brampton has not received its fair share of funding in health care services resulting in overcrowding and hallway medicine. An investment in the Ryerson School of Medicine gives the City of Brampton an opportunity to change that.” 

 The five pillars that the School of Medicine at Ryerson will be based on are:

• Focusing on community centric primary care and the social determinants of health
• Providing culturally respectful care to communities
• Leveraging innovation and technology in practices to improve quality of care and patient outcomes
• Providing future physicians with the skills to develop inter-professional networks of health care to achieve better outcomes for patients
• Focusing on the aging and supporting seniors as a growing portion of our society gets older

Ryerson University announced that its planning committee has already initiated the first step of the consultation process. Steven Lisa, Vice-President, Research and Innovation (VPRI), who also serves as Chair outlined the vision of the proposed medical school. Online engagements occurred from April 26^th, 2021 to June 18^th, 2021. In addition,VPRI conducted weekly one-hour Zoom sessions from May 6^th, 2021 to June 14^th, 2021 to receive feedback from the wider RU community. There were six community engagement sessions held in the spring.

The next phase of the consultation process will involve  the participation of local Brampton Councillors and Ryerson leadership to engage the Brampton community

in order to assess its impact on those who are in this environs. I interviewed Monika Duggal, Coordinator, Media and Community Engagement on Wednesday, November 3^rd, 2021 and she updated me on the consultation process. The first community consultation was held on October 28^th, 2021 and there will be four more running until  November 23^rd, 2021. Anyone interested in learning about Ryerson University’s School of Medicine can check. www.ryerson.ca/brampton/school-of-medicine.