April 10, 2014 
For immediate release

Toronto, ON -Today, Health Minister Rona Ambrose learned first-hand the challenges of delivering healthcare in a busy urban hospital.

The Minister joined medical residents at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto by spending time with them as they delivered frontline care.

In addition, the Minister also discussed a range of issues, such as patient care, patient safety and health human resources, with the future physician specialists.

Quick Facts

• The Government of Canada has invested approximately $40 million to support the creation of more than 100 residency training positions in family medicine in rural and remote areas across the country and includes:
• $9 million per year on forgiving student loans for new family physicians;
• $18 million per year on the integration of internationally trained healthcare professionals.
• The Government of Canada has increased health transfers to the provinces and territories to unprecedented levels. This funding will continue to grow, reaching $40 billion by the end of the decade.
• The Government of Canada makes significant investments in Canadian health innovation, primarily through grants made by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Each year, through CIHR, approximately $1 billion is invested to support Canada's health researchers and trainees.
• The Government recently introduced, Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act(Vanessa's Law), that aims to protect Canadians and children from unsafe medicine and will give the Government new tools to recall unsafe products, require mandatory reporting of adverse reaction, impose tough new penalties for unsafe products, including jail time and compel drug companies to do further testing on a product, including when issues are identified with certain at-risk populations such as children.

Quotes

“As a "resident for a day", experiencing life “in the scrubs,” I saw first-hand the great work our doctors, nurses and healthcare practitioners are doing on a day-to-day basis and how they harness innovation to improve patient care.  It was a great opportunity to speak with not only front-line workers but also patients and their families in the hospital setting.”
Rona Ambrose
Minister of Health

“It is an honour to welcome the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Federal Minister of Health, to St. Joe’s for an exciting opportunity to gain hands on experience in medical residency. We are proud to have the opportunity to shine a spotlight on our unique teaching areas and specialized programs that we are recognized for on a national level including Thoracic surgery, Hepatic, Pancreatic and Biliary Tract (HPB) surgery and minimally invasive general surgery. Our commitment to excellence in medical education and the unique, hands-on approach to teaching the country’s next generation of health professionals are both critical to our Vision to be Canada’s Best Community Teaching Hospital.”
Elizabeth Buller
President and CEO, St. Joseph’s Health Centre