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Affiliation Agreement with University of Toronto
Strengthens North York General Hospital's Academic Role

Toronto, ON - May 18, 2007 - North York General Hospital is the first Greater Toronto Area community teaching hospital to sign a new affiliation agreement with the University of Toronto that further strengthens their long-standing partnership in educating future health-care professionals. As experts in community health care, educators from North York General Hospital will work closely with the university to provide excellent training in this important area.

"We are very pleased to sign this new affiliation agreement with the University of Toronto," says Gordon Cheesbrough, Chair, North York General Hospital Board of Governors. "It is an exciting and significant milestone in our partnership that reinforces our academic role in educating health-care professionals."

Since 1970, North York General Hospital has been committed to health-care training and is highly respected for its teaching expertise in community-based education programs. It excels at preparing both future family doctors and other specialists with the broad knowledge and skills they will need to provide essential comprehensive care throughout all stages of a patient's life.

"We take pride in our role as a community teaching hospital dedicated to learning, educating and innovating to provide the highest standards of patient care," says Bonnie Adamson, President & CEO, North York General Hospital. "By strengthening our academic and research links to the University of Toronto, the community we serve ultimately benefits."

"We believe in leading through partnership, and that our affiliated hospitals are among our most important enabling assets," says Dr. Catharine Whiteside, Dean, University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine. "The depth and breadth of knowledge and opportunities created by our affiliation with North York General Hospital and our other partners makes the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine a unique learning environment and a world leader in health education and research."

More than 50 per cent of the hospital's physicians have academic appointments at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine - reflecting the hospital's strong commitment to undergraduate and postgraduate education. On a typical day, approximately 60 medical students are being trained throughout the hospital during the academic year. Many other health-care professionals across the hospital also play an important role in training students in their respective fields.

"As the enrolment in the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine increases, and as the requirements for community-based experience grows, our general education model rooted in real-life experience ensures that physicians are trained to serve our community well in the years ahead," says Dr. Keith Rose, Vice President and Chief Medical Executive, North York General Hospital. "Training through the hospital provides an important grounding in the care most commonly needed in the community - from delivering babies to treating heart attacks."

The hospital's medical Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programs are distinguished by the enriching one-on-one experience they offer. A student is assigned to work alongside, and under the supervision of, one physician at a time in areas such as obstetrics and emergency medicine. This mentoring relationship provides students with unique opportunities to gain knowledge and understanding of common conditions in the community. With this new agreement, North York General Hospital educators will also have the opportunity to help shape aspects of the university's curriculum in the programs they teach.

The interprofessional approach to education taken by the hospital prepares students to work effectively as part of a team. In this stimulating environment, students learn from multiple educators in different professions, for example in nursing, pharmacy, social work, intensive care and physiotherapy. These highly trained clinicians bring together their collective expertise to provide patients with integrated, quality care.

All of North York General Hospital's clinical programs are engaged in teaching students. With one of the largest and strongest Family & Community Medicine programs in Canada, the hospital offers one of the most popular training sites for University of Toronto Family Medicine residents. Other large teaching programs at the hospital include Emergency Medicine, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Mental Health.

The new affiliation agreement will not only further enhance the rich learning experience of students, but enable the hospital and University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine to collaborate in research initiatives to advance patient care.


North York General Hospital, affiliated with the University of Toronto, is one of Canada's leading community teaching hospitals. We offer our culturally diverse community a wide range of acute care, ambulatory and long-term care services across four sites. The hospital embraces health by providing innovative and compassionate care for the whole person throughout all stages of life.

Contact: Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
North York General Hospital
Phone: (416) 756-6127