Toronto U of T: UTSC Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health | 32m | 6s | U of T | MVRDV

AlbertC

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*Mods, feel free to move and merge as necessary. I couldn't locate an existing thread and was unsure if there's another one where this would be grouped together with.



U of T Scarborough launches new academy of medicine for the eastern GTA


A new medical academy at the University of Toronto Scarborough will fill a critical need by training the next generation of health-care professionals in the eastern Greater Toronto Area.

The Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH) will be a partnership with U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine and Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, along with local hospitals and health networks.

Once operational, SAMIH will graduate up to 30 physicians, 30 physician assistants, 30 nurse practitioners, 40 physical therapists and 300 life sciences undergraduates per year. It will also include an expanded life sciences program at U of T Scarborough.

“The new Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health will serve the local community, in partnership with neighbour hospitals and community organizations,” said U of T president Meric Gertler.

“It will train the next generation of health professionals, foster innovative scholarly activity, and provide much-needed health and economic benefits to the Eastern GTA.”

SAMIH received funding as part of the Ontario government’s plan to increase the number of doctors in the province, which was announced last week.

“Our government is supporting the University of Toronto with 30 additional undergraduate seats by 2025 and 45 additional postgraduate positions by 2027 at its new Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health,” said Jill Dunlop, Ontario’s minister of colleges and universities.

“By planning for these new medical school positions now, students can begin their medical education as soon as the campus opens its doors, meaning more physicians able to join the health care workforce and support this growing, vibrant community.”

SAMIH, which will be the first medical academy in the eastern GTA, will fill a shortage of health-care professionals in the region. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the Central East Local Health Integration Network (where Scarborough and Durham Region are located) has the second lowest number of family physicians and specialists in Ontario per 100,000 residents.

Scarborough is also identified as an area of high physician need by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. This includes shortages of other specialists such as child and adult psychiatrists, geriatricians, nurse practitioners and emergency medical physicians.

“As one of the top five schools in the world, the Temerty Faculty of Medicine is very well-prepared and able to extend medical education into Scarborough,” said Patricia Houston, acting dean of U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

“We’ve had great success in increasing physician capacity and access in Peel and we are confident that investing in U of T’s plans for the Eastern GTA will deliver the equitable, integrated and compassionate care the region needs.”

In addition to serving as a much-needed pipeline to educate students, there will be a particular focus on recruiting from Indigenous and Black communities that are currently underserved.

“SAMIH will address the acute health care needs of our underserved communities in the Eastern GTA by training a comprehensive range of high-quality professionals, many of whom will be talented individuals intentionally drawn from our neighbourhoods and reflecting our diverse communities,” said Wisdom Tettey, U of T vice-president and principal of U of T Scarborough.

Plans also include a new building at the intersection of Morningside Avenue and Military Trail, across from the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. The new building, which would serve as a central hub for the academy, is scheduled to open in September 2025 and will accommodate students in various disciplines.

Local partner hospitals and health networks will include the Scarborough Health Network, Lakeridge Health, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Michael Garron Hospital. There will also be research and teaching partnerships with several local organizations, notably The East Scarborough Storefront, TAIBU Community Health Centre and the Malvern Family Resource Centre.

“There has never been a more critical time to address the unmet health care needs in Scarborough than right now,” said Elizabeth Buller, president and CEO of Scarborough Health Network.

“Establishing the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health at UTSC will create a hub for training and strengthen connections between students and the communities they inhabit.”

Andrew Arifuzzaman, U of T Scarborough’s chief administrative officer, said the Scarborough campus is well positioned to launch the academy due to its location, close ties with the community and connection to U of T’s health sciences programs. It will also help strengthen connections among health-care providers in the region and bring additional economic development and professional employment to Scarborough and the eastern GTA.

With the establishment of SAMIH, U of T’s Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing will be the only nursing school to have a nurse-practitioner-led clinic as part of its training program, meaning students can provide direct care while under supervision. U of T’s nurse practitioner (NP) program is also the only one in Canada to offer specializations in adult primary care, global health and pediatrics.

“Nurse practitioners are vital to the health of communities,” said Linda Johnston, dean of U of T’s Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing.

“As part of SAMIH, our NP students will graduate prepared to provide direct care for the community, supporting the greater needs of the health care system in the Scarborough and Durham region.”


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The application for this one has been filed.

and

* The Docs are Up *


The 'renders' are identical to those provided above by @AlbertC so I'm not duplicating those; just some massing/context and planning docs below.

The simplified drawings are the only ones that I was able to read (one set of plans didn't load properly) with an architecture firm name on them, gh3.

However, its not clear to me if there role in this overall as is as lead architect.

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Construction for UTSC medical academy to begin in early 2023


July 11, 2022

The Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH) is set to break ground in early 2023, a UTSC spokesperson told The Varsity in an email.

The SAMIH was announced in March 2022, and is slated to begin operation and classes in the 2025–2026 academic year.

Increased feelings of burnout among health-care workers following the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to a strained medical system. U of T envisioned the SAMIH to address the shortage of medical professionals in Scarborough and Durham exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SAMIH will boost the number of undergraduate and postgraduate students seeking careers in the medical profession, with the allocation of 30 undergraduate seats and 45 postgraduate seats by 2025 and 2027, respectively.

Construction plans

Recently, U of T submitted a Zoning By-Law Amendment application to the city — an application to alter or construct on an already-owned property in a manner that does not correspond with established land use regulations — outlining plans for the construction of the SAMIH.

According to the proposal, a six-storey building for the SAMIH will be constructed on the north end of the UTSC campus at the corner of Morningside Avenue and Military Trail Road.

In the application, U of T proposed that the ground floor be used to serve public utility, with plans to include a pharmacy and food services. Academic spaces for studying and conducting classes, as well as office spaces for faculty, will be located in the basement and the upper floors. The uppermost level is designed to be a rooftop patio.

“Student common spaces are a priority. Specifics in terms of locations within the building will be determined during the upcoming design process,” wrote the UTSC spokesperson.
 
They always put their fun buildings way out there. >.<
 


UTSC medical school construction, opening slated to be pushed back


January 16, 2023

Announced in March 2022 by U of T and the Government of Ontario, the SAMIH is intended to address Ontario’s strained healthcare system and the shortage of healthcare workers in Scarborough and Durham.

The plan, presented by the SAMIH’s planning committee, will be up for approval by the Governing Council on February 15.

At the CAC, UTSC Director of Business Operations and Campus Development Therese Ludlow said that the four main divisions that will occupy the upcoming SAMIH will be the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, and UTSC.

At full enrollment, Ludlow estimated that the SAMIH’s annual graduating class will consist of up to 50 physicians, 30 physician assistants, 30 nurse practitioners, 40 physical therapists, and 300 undergraduate life science students.

Construction for the SAMIH is set to begin in October 2023, and the building is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in time for the 2026–2027 academic year. Previously, the SAMIH was set to break ground in early 2023 and begin operations by the 2025–2026 academic year.

At the CAC, UTSC Vice-President and Principal Wisdom Tettey explained that the first cohort of the SAMIH graduate students will mostly start at UTSG, while their undergraduate counterparts will start at UTSC in the 2024–2025 academic year. Once the SAMIH opens, Tettey said that U of T will transition these students into the SAMIH.

“The idea here is to make sure that the construction does not hold back progress toward addressing the healthcare needs of our community,” said Tettey.

In response to a concern raised by a committee member about the current lack of spaces at UTSC to accommodate the first SAMIH cohorts, Tettey emphasized that the Instructional Centre (IC) 2 building will significantly increase UTSC’s classroom capacity. IC 2 is currently under construction and is set to open in late 2023.
 
I should note, because it may not be clear to some, that in that last render, the assumption made is that much of the vision for UTSC's landscape will be delivered. So this building is sited on what is currently the north side of Military Trail.

The render illustrates the concept where this has been converted to a pedestrian plaza space and Military Trail has been re-routed. It also shows the parking north of Centennial College's building removed in favour of green space:

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The white outline reflects the approximate location of the proposed building (ignore the shape, I wasn't trying to be accurate)
 
I had hoped that MVRDV's first building here would (have already come sooner) and have been a bigger deal.

42
 
According to IG this has broken ground.

Press Release from UTSC, yesterday:

 

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