The Centre for Global Equity in Emergency Medicine
The Centre for Global Equity in Emergency Medicine (the GEM Centre), is an organization based within the Divisions of Emergency Medicine at the University of Toronto. Founded over 10 years ago, it brings together emergency medicine physicians and other health professionals who have an interest in global health and health equity both locally and globally. At the GEM Centre, we are dedicated to advancing equitable emergency care for all. We develop and implement education and research initiatives, which are informed by clinical practice. Our activities translate into academic outputs and aim to inform health policy development, benefiting those in Canada and abroad.
Membership within the GEM Centre can provide interested Division of EM faculty within the DFCM an academic home within Emergency Medicine and will offer opportunities to both collaborate on education and research projects and join a like-minded Community of Practice. To join the GEM Centre, please complete this brief online registration form. For more information about the GEM Centre’s activities or any other questions, please contact the GEM Centre’s Executive Director Elayna Fremes.
Major Projects and Initiatives
Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in Emergency Medicine (TAAAC-EM)
The Toronto Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in Emergency Medicine (TAAAC-EM) is an educational partnership between the University of Toronto (U of T) and Addis Ababa University (AAU). Established in 2010, its intention is to foster the development of Ethiopia's first Emergency Medicine (EM) Residency Program, and support the growth of the specialty. This commitment has led to the graduation of Ethiopia's first cohorts of emergency physicians, beginning in October 2013, and the development of additional residency training programs at institutions across Ethiopia. The goal of TAAAC-EM is to assist in the graduation of a self-sustaining critical mass of Emergency Medicine leaders at AAU who will continue to train future generations of Ethiopians, and grow emergency medicine expertise throughout the country and East Africa.
TAAAC-EM sends visiting faculty and residents from U of T to teach and clinically mentor Ethiopian EM residents 3 times per year. Teaching trips cover a longitudinal, three-year curriculum through didactic teaching sessions, practical seminars, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), simulation, and bedside clinical supervision. Each trip consists of two U of T faculty and one senior postgraduate resident. TAAAC-EM also supports Ethiopian EM physicians through curriculum design and development, operational research and support, and continuing professional development and leadership initiatives.
For more details about how to apply to become a faculty or resident teaching delegate with TAAAC-EM, please contact the GEM Centre Program Manager Hannah Girdler.
DFCM & KNUST Collaboration
In 2023 the GEM Centre was asked to lead a new collaboration for the Division of EM between U of T and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. This collaboration is part of the larger Africa Higher Education Health Collaborative funded by the MasterCard Foundation. Three short courses that focused on Community Emergency Care, Pre-Hospital Emergency Care, and Emergency Preparedness and Response to Epidemic Prone-Diseases were collaboratively developed with our Ghanaian colleagues and delivered in the fall of 2023. We have been asked to repeat this success in 2024. Many thanks to all of our DFCM faculty and U of T partners: Nour Khatib, Alexandra Stefan, David Ng, Julia Wytsma, Kim deSouza, Stephanie Barnes, Adrienne Chan, Andrew Simor, Ian Drennan, Walter Tavares, Ahmed Taher, Jennifer Cool-Closs, and John Simpson.
The Feasible, Accessible, Standard Testing for HIV in the Emergency Department (FAST-HIV) project was created in response to a recognition that emergency department (ED) patients lacked access to rapid HIV testing. Previously, HIV tests for patients whose tests were completed in an Ontario ED were sent offsite to public health laboratories. This meant that providers rarely offered or ordered HIV testing, out of concerns of lack of continuity of care for patients and people being lost to follow up. Results sent to PHO were not available for one to three weeks, leading to delays in vital information for ED providers caring for acutely ill patients, and limiting access to HIV testing for high-risk patients. Through a mix of provider and patient-initiated testing, the FAST-HIV protocol, first implemented at UHN, has demonstrated that rapid HIV testing is feasible and acceptable within an emergency department. In 2024 the FAST-HIV project team received additional funding from the Ontario HIV Treatment Network in order to expand implementation of the FAST-HIV protocol to eight new hospital sites in Ontario.
