Patients coming to Mount Sinai’s Granovsky Gluskin Family Medicine Centre (GGFMC) experience Family Medicine and primary care at its best. The Centre is located in a 13,000 sq. foot state-of-the-art facility, supported by a comprehensive electronic medical record department and is home to:

The Mount Sinai Academic Family Health Team (MSAFHT)

The MSAFHT is a primary care research program. The purpose of the program is to provide patients access to comprehensive family medicine provided by an interprofessional team, to provide a venue for education of family medicine residents and students of allied professions; and to provide an opportunity to research and further the best practices of team-based family medicine and primary care.

The MSAFHT team consists of ten academic family physicians, nurses, dietitians, a pharmacist and social worker along with administrative staff, residents and students.  Together, the team provides comprehensive primary care to patients across the lifespan and focused care for prenatal and diabetes patients, two of three priority patient programs offered by the team. With the anticipated addition of a psychologist, social worker and additional nursing staff, the team will soon provide additional in-house mental health care services to patients. The team is working diligently to develop integrated models of interprofessional care and unique education opportunities for learners from various disciplines.  MSAFHT provides care to approximately 10,000 patients who make close to 30,000 visits annually to the Centre.

A large family medicine clinical teaching unit, affiliated with the University of Toronto’s Department of Family and Community Medicine

The Family Medicine Residency Program at the University of Toronto is a comprehensive 24-month educational program designed to prepare family physicians for the challenges of community practice in a changing health care system.

The Family Medicine Centre’s Clinical Teaching Unit is one of 10 units affiliated with the University of Toronto and was recently awarded 6-year accreditation by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. This award is reflective of the department’s standing as an academic centre of excellence in family medicine residency teaching.

Each year, 26 residents participate in an innovative horizontal education program, for a comprehensive two-year practical learning experience. In addition to their various rotations, residents spend several days a week in clinic, providing ongoing care to an assigned group of patients.  Family medicine residents work closely with members of the Family Health Team and provide care to up to 42 per cent of the patients visiting the Centre. The opportunity to work with an interprofessional team delivering comprehensive care, coupled with the support of award-winning faculty and an exceptional facility, make this teaching centre a sought-after training site by medical students considering a career in family medicine.

The education program also hosted 22 medical clerks in 2007/08. Medical clerks are 3rd and 4th year medical students who undertake rotations in various settings as part of their educational program.

An important primary care research program

The Family Medicine Research program is another GGFMC success story. Under the directorship of Dr. June Carroll, who holds the Sidney G. Frankfort Chair in Family Medicine, the Centre is home to several researchers including four MSAFHT physician team members who have significant research commitments. Research currently underway includes:

  • A study of the impact of different models of maternity care on the recruitment and retention of learners, as one means of addressing inadequate human resources in maternity care (Dr. A. Biringer).
  • The integration of genetics into primary care (Dr. J. Carroll).
  • The development and evaluation of educational materials and knowledge translation strategies for primary care providers and the public in prenatal and newborn screening and adult onset genetic disorders such as hereditary breast and colorectal cancers (Dr. J. Carroll). 
  • The development of tools and supports to help health care providers manage common problems in family medicine, such as sore throat, urinary tract infection, antibiotic resistance, cardiovascular disease and diabetes (Dr. W. McIsaac).
  • Nationally and internationally recognized work in the area of international medicine and primary care quality indicators (Dr. Y. Talbot).

Awards 2007

  • Dr. Sidney Feldman received the Award for Excellence from the OCFP (Ontario College of Family Physicians) in recognition of his contributions to the OCFP Alzheimer Disease Project and his dedication to exemplary care of the elderly. November 2007.
  • Dr. Murray Finkelstein received the Gil Samson Award presented by the Construction Safety Association of Ontario for "Conscientious efforts to raise the construction industry's awareness of occupational health hazards."
  • Anita Greig was awarded the Mount Sinai Hospital Family Medicine Obstetrics Teaching Award.
  • Dr. Anita Singh won the 2007 Fred Fallis Award in Online Learning for her course entitled "A Web-Based E-Learning Program for Postgraduate Residents in End-of-Life Care.”
  • Dr. David Tannenbaum and Dr. Jamie Meuser, Ontario College of Family Physicians, Awarded Family Physician of the Year (co-awarded) for Metro Toronto Region.
  • Dr. David Tannenbaum, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Recipient: Charles Mickles Fellowship Award for Contributions to Postgraduate Medical Education.
  • Dr. David Tannenbaum, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto Recipient: Postgraduate Education Achievement Award for Program Leadership.

 Awards 2008

  • Dr. June Carroll received the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto Award for Excellence in Development and Use of Innovative Instructional Methods.
  • Dr. Sue Goldstein is the recipient of the Dr. Elizabeth Anne Beattie Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Pre-Clerkship Curriculum from the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto.
  • Maureen McGillivray, MSW won the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto Interprofessional Health Teaching Award.
  • Dr. Warren McIsaac, Dr. Rahim Moineddin, and Dr. S. Ross received the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto 2007 Original Research Article Award, for their paper “Validation of a decision aid to assist physicians in reducing unnecessary antibiotic use for acute cystitis in adult women. (In Arch Intern Med 2007; 167(20):2201-06.)
  • Dr. Natalie Morson received the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto Resident Award for Clinical Excellence.
  • Dr. Anita Singh won the 2008 Department of Family and Community Medicine Award (DFCM) for Excellence in Continuing Education, for her contribution to professional development within the DFCM.
  • The Wilson Medical Group (Drs. Anita Greig, Frederick Harris, Susan Joyce, Barbara Newman, Gili Rosen. Vivian Yuen) are the winners of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto Outstanding Teaching in the Family Medicine Clerkship (community-based).

New Faces/Appointments/Promotions/Other News from the Division

  • Dr. Lorraine Wood has been appointed Assistant Professor, DFCM.
  • Dr. Kevin Bezanson has been appointed Lecturer, DFCM.