The CEO News Desk features a message from David Graham, President and CEO of Scarborough Health Network, in Network News, our monthly e-newsletter. To receive Network News and other messages to the community in your inbox, subscribe today.
Scarborough Health Network (SHN) is committed to serving Scarborough by advancing exceptional quality care close to home. Our bold vision is to be Canada’s leading community teaching hospital.
In September, I had the pleasure of speaking at a celebration for a new health education program for Scarborough secondary schools, which SHN is launching in partnership with Woburn Collegiate Institute.
It was a full circle moment for me to meet the bright minds from Woburn who will be among the first to participate in this program. I have local roots and grew up here in Scarborough, and attended West Hill Collegiate Institute and R.H. King Academy.
This Specialist High Skills Major will teach young people in Scarborough about health conditions; improve health literacy; and empower students to spread health knowledge to their school community and beyond. Students will be supported and coached by designated hospital staff about the many opportunities in a changing healthcare landscape as they prepare to present their learnings in the classroom. We sincerely hope these students will consider choosing to work here in Scarborough one day.
Cultivating the next generation of healthcare workers is a big part of the work we are doing to ensure our community has access to world-class healthcare for generations to come. For SHN, education is not just a strategic priority, it is an integral part of who we are.
With a connected network of three hospitals and several satellite sites, we are the third largest community teaching hospital provider in Ontario and affiliated with the Toronto Academic Health Science Network. In addition to medical students, we teach diploma, undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students from a wide range of disciplines, both clinical and non-clinical, as they complete supervised practicums as part of their academic requirements.
Building on our rich history that includes an affiliation with the University of Toronto dating back to the 1970s, medical and health education continue to grow every year at SHN. We are excited for the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health at the University of Toronto Scarborough, as well as the new research and education centre being built at our Centenary Hospital, for it is in these spaces that we collaborate to develop Scarborough-made solutions.
We look forward to sharing more about our plans for health education and research, as well as how SHN is “Reimagining Care” at upcoming Community Forums in November. Watch your inbox for an invitation to these events over the next couple of weeks.
Sincerely,
David Graham
President and CEO
Scarborough Health Network