At the close of Dr. Pat O’Campo’s 11-year tenure, Dr. Stephen Hwang was named the centre’s new Director.
“The arc of my research is the same as the growth of the (research) centre,” said Dr. Hwang. “It started as a tiny enterprise, just me doing little projects. A researcher’s first impulse is to look at a problem and describe it: the (elevated) death rate among the homeless, their lack of access to mental health care. But research has to make a difference in people’s lives.” (Toronto Star)
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care announced that it would no longer provide regular infrastructure support to research centres across Ontario, including CRICH. Over the next few years, under Dr. Hwang’s leadership (see below) and with the support of St. Michael’s Foundation and its very committed donors, the centre’s operations successfully transitioned to a philanthropic funding model. With the campaign came a new name for the centre: the Centre for Urban Health Solutions (CUHS).
Now an independent organization, Well Living House was founded at CRICH as an action research centre for Indigenous infants, children, and their families’ health and well-being. Its founder, Dr. Janet Smylie, continues to lead Well Living House and is now Strategic Lead of Indigenous Wellness, Reconciliation and Partnerships at Unity Health Toronto.
Dr. Stephen Hwang was appointed St. Michael’s inaugural Chair in Homelessness, Housing and Health, the first endowed research chair aimed at better understanding the health needs of people experiencing homelessness.
CRICH launched a Survey Research Unit (SRU) to support data collection and data quality for equity-focused research projects. Today, SRU clients include researchers and program development staff based in hospitals, universities, research centres and third-sector organizations.
More than 500 attendees from 19 countries attended, more than doubling the attendance of the conference’s inaugural year.
Under Dr. Pat O’Campo’s leadership, CRICH launched the 24-month ACHIEVE (Action for Health Equity Interventions) Training Program. Funded by a multi-year, CIHR Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research (STIHR) grant, ACHIEVE trained 38 postdoctoral fellows to generate and apply evidence to address and close health inequities. Alumni went on to be Canada Research Chairs, hospital and university chairs, researchers, professors and leaders at institutions across North America including MAP and Unity Health Toronto.
The Unit’s new name was chosen to reflect the Unit’s growth and status as a Centre within St. Michael’s Hospital. The mission remained the same: reducing health inequities through innovative research and knowledge translation to support social change.
World-renowned Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Dr. Patricia O’Campo was recruited to be the second holder of the Inner City Health Chair and Director of the Unit, a position she held for 11 years. Dr. O’Campo had authored one of the first papers to examine the social and economic factors that affect health. Her early career research helped shape what is now known as social epidemiology. Today, Dr. O’Campo is a MAP Scientist, Executive Director of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s, and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Population Health Intervention Research.
Under the leadership of interim Directors Drs. Rick Glazier and Wendy Levinson, the ICHRU attracted new talent from around the world. As the ICHRU grew, its impact expanded: in 2002, ICHRU hosted the first-ever International Conference on Inner City Health, highlighting the unit’s growing global reach. Drs. Bayoumi and Hwang, who co-chaired the conference, published a paper that helped define and advance inner city health as an emerging, complex, and increasingly relevant discipline. “Throughout the research endeavor, the inner-city health researcher must carefully balance the roles of investigator, advocate, activist, and caregiver.”
