Medical School Expanding to Sault Ste. Marie

The Sault ⁢is one of 16 communities receiving a new or expanded primary care teaching clinic, thanks to $8 million in funding from the⁢ ontario goverment.

Each teaching ⁣clinic will receive up to $500,000 to support planning ‍work.

The ‍clinics will train family medicine residents in a​ team-based model⁤ alongside other health-care professionals, such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants ‌and registered nurses, offering training that combines direct patient care with hands-on learning in team-based environments, all while providing primary care for an additional 300,000 people.

Opening clinics are targeted for 2027-28, with further expansion to follow.

“These new primary ⁢care teaching clinics will further protect our health-care ‌system by training the next generation of primary care clinicians, right here in Ontario,”⁣ said Sylvia ‌Jones, Deputy premier and minister of Health⁢ in a news release.

“This builds on our government’s unprecedented investments in primary care that will ensure anyone who wants to connect‍ to a primary care clinician can have reliable access to primary care, no matter where they live.”

Three potential sites were discussed at a council meeting in May.

SooToday has reached out⁤ to the city for comment and to ask which site will be used.

For more information, see the press⁤ release below.

The Ontario government is investing up to $8 million to support planning for 16 new and expanded primary care teaching clinics​ across‌ the province to⁤ connect 300,000 more people ⁤to primary care. This investment⁢ is part‌ of the government’s $2.1 billion Primary Care Action Plan to connect everyone in Ontario to primary care by 2029.

“These new primary care teaching clinics will further protect our health-care system by training the next generation of primary care clinicians, right here in Ontario,” ​said Sylvia Jones, ​Deputy Premier and minister of Health. “This builds on our government’s unprecedented investments in primary‌ care that will ensure anyone who wants to connect‌ to a primary care ⁤clinician can have reliable access to⁢ primary care, no matter where they‍ live.”

Each teaching clinic will receive up to $500,000 to support planning work.In ‍partnership with Ontario’s medical schools, these clinics will train family medicine residents in a⁢ team-based model alongside other health-care professionals,⁣ such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants and registered nurses. these clinics will offer training that combines direct patient care with hands-on learning ‍in team-based environments, all while ⁢providing primary care for an additional 300,000 people. Initial teaching clinics are targeted to open in 2027-28, with further expansion to follow.

“Hands-on learning is critical to ensuring our health care students can hit the ground running and provide exceptional care upon graduation,” said Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research‍ Excellence and Security.⁢ “The new and expanded primary care clinics ‍will not only ⁣equip our future doctors and nurses ​with the skills they need to thrive, but also connect more people in Ontario to compassionate health‌ care, close to home.”

This funding⁢ is part of the government’s broader investment of up to $300 million – part of the‌ $2.1⁣ billion⁢ Primary Care Action ⁣Plan ⁢– to build new and expanded community-based primary care teaching clinics in areas with high rates of unattachment. ‌Along with funding planning grants for 16 new and expanded teaching clinics, two new primary care teaching clinics at Toronto Metropolitan University will bring ‍the total to 18 clinics. Together with other historic investments in new medical school seats, creating over 130 new and expanded primary care teams and adding nearly ⁣20,000 new physicians to ‍the health-care system, these initiatives are​ helping to connect Ontario families to primary care, beginning with clearing the waitlist as⁣ of⁤ January 1, 2025. As of this week, that waitlist has been reduced by more than 75 per cent.