York University, eager to turn up the volume in its campaign for a new medical school, is hiring a veteran leader in health-care education to press its case with the Ontario government.
Peter Walker, former dean of medicine at the University of Ottawa, will be named today as a special adviser to university president Mamdouh Shoukri to lead the $150-million proposal.
"This is a signal that we are very serious about this," said Dr. Shoukri, who has made a new medical school his top priority since he became leader of the Toronto university last summer.
Dr. Walker will spearhead the development of a business plan for the school, which he hopes will open its doors to 100 students by 2012.
York is positioning its bid for a medical school as a chance to build from the ground up a more team-based and community-focused approach to training doctors - one that will mesh nicely with the province's efforts to increase access to primary health care.
The proposal got a boost this spring when it gained the support of Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman, but that endorsement did not, as some expected, translate into dollars in last month's provincial budget.
The Liberal government has pledged to fund 100 new medical school spaces. A Ministry of Health spokeswoman said Mr. Smitherman still supports the York proposal, but more work needs to be done before the province will decide on where the new spaces will be located.
Dr. Walker said he was attracted to the job at York because he believes the new school could accomplish things that are not possible with established programs. "There is a systems issue here in Ontario for health-service delivery that can't just be met by the traditional approach," he said.
By working with hospitals and communities in nearby York Region and tapping professionals from a variety of disciplines - including social workers, nutritionists, even business experts - he envisions the school developing a new model for medical education that will be widely copied.
"This is going to do something that is going to change the system," Dr. Walker said. "I don't think there is another university or another situation in expanding what already exists that has that opportunity and that potential."
Several existing Ontario medical schools are well down the path of establishing regional medical campuses, which they say will have an increased focus on community health care. Dr. Walker said the York proposal will not be more expensive that expanding an existing program. And Dr. Shoukri said York's proposal should be seen as complementing existing schools. Given the limited dollars for health-care spending, some rivalry for the promised new spaces for medical students is bound to develop.
Dr. Shoukri said the fact the new school did not get financial support in the recent budget indicates more work needs to be done, but he is confident funding will come. "I honestly believe that we have a proposal that will make it because we are presenting something that is needed," he said.