New partnership addresses gap in health care system

University of Toronto is partnering with three other leading health care and research institutions to address a major gap in our health care system: the care of those suffering from simultaneous mental and physical illness. The creation of the Medical Psychiatry Alliance was announced at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) on January 28, 2014. In attendance were representatives from the four founding partner institutions: University of Toronto, CAMH, the Hospital for Sick Children and Trillium Health Partners. Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Deb Matthews was also on hand to announce the province's $20 million grant to the Alliance, matching a landmark $20 million gift from an anonymous donor. Each of the four partners has also committed to raising additional funds and providing critical resources to make the $60 million initiative a reality. "The University of Toronto has a long and proud history of leadership and innovation in the education of mental health professionals, and of collaborative leadership in mental health care, all informed by groundbreaking research in the field," said U of'T President Meric Gertler. "We are delighted to be a founding partner in this initiative to improve dramatically the quality of health care for the most vulnerable in our society, and for all Ontarians." More than 1.3 million Ontarians currently suffer from combined physical and mental illness.