NOSM Holds Board Retreat in Thunder Bay

Board Members Passionate about NOSM’s Social Accountability Mandate to Improve the Health of People in Northern Ontario

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) held its annual Board of Directors retreat in Thunder Bay, Ontario on May 11 and May 12, 2017.

During the two-day meeting, enlivened Board members participated in several presentations and interactive sessions led by NOSM’s executive team on the topics of innovative health professional education and research which contribute to improving the health of the people and communities of Northern Ontario.

Community engagement and social accountability were front and centre in Board discussions. Board members expressed their passion for NOSM’s commitment to bettering the health of all Northern Ontarians, no matter who they are.

A highlight was a session on social accountability titled “Saving Table Spaces For Your Social Graces” led by Dr. Alex Anawati, Charter Class alumnus, a full time urban & rural ER Physician, faculty member and NOSM Board member. Dr. Anawati inspired Board members to consider ways NOSM and its collaborators can use a socially accountable framework to respond to the changing health concerns of Northern communities, especially the most disadvantaged people who call Northern Ontario home.

“Social accountability begs a look at the bigger picture with a hunger to change it,” says Dr. Anawati. “In just two years, we had up to 6,000 potential years of life lost due to preventable causes in Northern Ontario. Are we really cool with that? Our populations’ priority health concerns need to be understood from a social perspective, because the technical point of view has not worked out very well,” he says.

Led by Board member and Chair of the Nominations and Community Relations Committee, Danielle Bélanger-Corbin asked members to identify ways the Board can assist NOSM in active community involvement, which is fundamental to the School’s model of distributed community engaged learning.

In the evening, NOSM Board members enjoyed a dinner at Historic Old Fort William with local guests, including Thunder Bay Councilor Larry Herbert, who provided greetings on behalf of the City.

On the second morning, Mark Aiello, Marsh Canada, provided a session on enterprise risk management, which was followed by an overview on NOSM’s governance structure and policy development, led by Mark Hurst, Chair of the Governance Committee, and Gina Kennedy, Secretary to the Board. Finally, Board members Ken Boshcoff and Danielle Bélanger-Corbin and Chief Operating Officer Ray Hunt spoke about the importance of ongoing advocacy for the sustainment of NOSM’s proven model in an environment of fiscal challenges.

The Directors received a Financial Report for the 10-month period ending February 28, 2017. In addition, the Board approved the proposed balanced budget of $46.44 million for the fiscal year May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018, as presented.

At the formal Board meeting, members approved the reappointment of Pierre Dumais, Gary Boissoneau, Ken Boshcoff, and Derek Handley for second terms on the NOSM Board.

The next meeting of the Board of Directors is scheduled to occur on September 20, 2017.

For a complete list of Board members, please visit our website at nosm.ca.