Regional Growth, System Pressures, and Why Scarborough Now
The Eastern Greater Toronto Area, including Scarborough and surrounding communities, is experiencing rapid growth and now serves nearly 1.3 million residents. This increase is driving sustained demand for primary care, specialty services, and hospital capacity, while physician supply remains below provincial standards. As a result, access gaps persist, continuity of care is fragmented, and health system pressures are rising. Scarborough was disproportionately affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, with several neighbourhoods among Toronto’s most impacted. However, Scarborough is well-positioned for a targeted, high-impact solution. The University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) community reflects the region’s diversity, with 14,000 students forming a strong local pipeline of future health professionals. Local hospitals and community partners are prepared to expand training and service capacity, making investment both urgent and feasible.
Provincial Priority: Ending Hallway Healthcare
Ending hallway healthcare is a key priority for the Government of Ontario and requires sustained capacity growth, particularly in under-resourced regions such as the Eastern GTA. Addressing congestion and improving patient flow depends on increasing healthcare human resources and strengthening clinical training infrastructure to support safe, high-quality care. The Province’s commitment to fund up to 45 new postgraduate medical education positions at University of Toronto partner hospitals directly supports this goal and enables targeted expansion where it is most needed.
SAMIH: A Community-Anchored Training Hub
The Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH) will create an integrated health-professions training hub within the community. SAMIH will offer MD education alongside training for Physician Assistants, Physical Therapists, and Nurse Practitioners. These programs will be supported by undergraduate life sciences and community clinics providing services in clinical psychology, nurse practitioner-led care, and pharmacy.
A key strength of the SAMIH model is its formal partnership with Scarborough Health Network (SHN) and Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), enabling a distributed medical education approach that is both scalable and rooted in local clinical needs. Through these partnerships, SAMIH will expand foundational teaching and develop longitudinal learning experiences across ambulatory, inpatient, and community settings. As the program grows, SHN and MGH will serve as primary clinical training sites for Clerkship, supporting high-quality placements, supervision, and the learning environment needed to deliver an equivalent MD experience while strengthening clinical service capacity in the Eastern GTA.
Impact and Equity Outcomes
SAMIH will strengthen the “learn local, train local, practice local” pathway by expanding the health workforce, advancing equity and diversity in health professions, and supporting measurable progress toward ending hallway healthcare in Scarborough and the Eastern GTA.
SAMIH Launch – MD Program Readiness and Project Portfolio
To support and ensure a successful SAMIH launch, the MD Program is coordinating projects to align governance, accreditation, infrastructure, personnel, and delivery readiness into a unified plan. This includes the
- SAMIH Major Modification
- CACMS New Branch Campus Notification
- SHN Medical Education Centre Planning & Design
- SAMIH Building Planning & Design
- SAM Integration in Foundations and Clerkship
- SAM/UTSC Faculty Leads & Staff Recruitment
- SHN Faculty Recruitment & Development
- Evaluation of the SAM implementation
These enabling projects align accreditation, infrastructure, workforce capacity, and program integration to ensure SAMIH launches with a fully equivalent MD educational experience and measurable community impact from day one.
