AMRIC creates 6 jobs through partnership

A partnership between the Advanced Medical Institute of Canada (AMRIC) and a European software company called Elekta will immediately create six jobs.

AMRIC, the research wing at Health Sciences North, will help Elekta to test health-care scheduling software which manages patient records and procedures.

It's also anticipated that within a year, the partnership will create another six to 10 jobs, all of which will be well-paid, said AMRIC CEO Dr. Francisco Diaz-Mitoma.

“This is very important,” he said. “We're creating a hub for the development of these tools that will put us in a very good position to compete globally to bring more jobs here to Sudbury.”

The fact that Elekta has chosen AMRIC for this partnership shows Sudbury “is a world-class city to live in,” Diaz-Mitoma said.

The partnership is just the latest example of the expansion of research at Health Sciences North.

Diaz-Mitoma said when he was hired by the hospital two-and-a-half years ago, there were 20 researchers employed there. That number now stands at 60, and the Elekta partnership will bring it to 66.

Because research space on Health Sciences North's campus is getting a bit tight, plans are underway to create more space.

“That is what's impeding our growth right now,” he said.

Within three years, Diaz-Mitoma hopes to be working out of a new 53,000-square-foot facility on the hospital's campus.

To realize this goal, AMRIC has launched a five-year, $70-million capital campaign, which will also support the institute's operating costs.

It recently asked city council to pledge $10 million toward the project.

The hospital has also purchased the former St. Theresa Catholic Elementary School from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board for $450,000 with the view of turning it into research space.

Diaz-Mitoma said he hopes renovations to the facility will be done by late 2014.