Wawa-news.com Local and Regional News
Agnico Eagle Mines Limited is investing in the future of health care across Northern Ontario through a $225,000 gift to NOSM University over the next three years. The funding will help strengthen physician recruitment by increasing awareness of the opportunities to live, learn, and practise medicine across the region.
Northern Ontario communities are working hard to recruit the physicians they need. While every community has unique strengths and opportunities to offer, many have limited capacity to promote themselves to prospective physicians. This gift will help address that challenge by supporting a coordinated recruitment strategy that complements existing local efforts and showcases the region as an exceptional place to build a career and a life.
The initiative will promote the region’s diverse health-care settings and communities through strategic outreach, digital marketing, and high-quality recruitment resources. It will reflect the unique opportunities available in rural, remote, Indigenous, Francophone, and urban communities while aligning with local and regional workforce priorities.
“We want to highlight the strengths of communities across Northern Ontario and the impact of practising medicine here,” says Dr. Sarah Newbery, Associate Dean, Physician Workforce Strategy at NOSM University. “We believe this is an exceptional place to live, learn, and build a career. Every community has a story to tell, and we want future physicians to see Northern Ontario as a place where they can bring their families, grow professionally as doctors and teachers of the next generation, experience a sense of belonging, and have a lasting impact on the health of their communities and the region as a whole.”
NOSM University has a proven track record of educating and retaining physicians in the North through its distributed, community-engaged learning model. The investment will take this work further by helping NOSM University and its partners connect medical students, medical residents, and physicians who are new to the region with opportunities across Northern Ontario.
“We know that attracting physicians is one of the biggest challenges facing many Northern Ontario communities. It’s also one of the most important investments we can make in the region’s future. By supporting NOSM University’s physician recruitment efforts, we’re helping showcase Northern Ontario as a place where doctors can build meaningful careers while strengthening the communities where our employees and their families live,” said Andre Leite, Agnico Eagle Vice-President, Ontario.
“NOSM University is deeply rooted in Northern communities and committed to ensuring the people of Northern Ontario have equitable access to care,” says Dr. Michael Green, NOSM University President, Vice-Chancellor, Dean, and CEO. “We are deeply grateful to Agnico Eagle for this generous investment and for their leadership in supporting initiatives that create lasting value for Northern communities. Partnerships like this demonstrate how industry can make a meaningful difference by investing not only in the economic prosperity of the North, but also in the health, well-being, and long-term sustainability of the people and communities.”
