Patients in Central Ontario could soon have greater access to clinical research and innovative healthcare studies thanks to a new partnership among hospitals across Simcoe-Muskoka and Grey-Bruce.
The Central Ontario Research Ethics Board (CO-REB) brings together several hospitals under a shared system for reviewing and approving research involving human participants.
The initiative is designed to help community hospitals participate more efficiently in clinical trials, frontline healthcare research and innovative care projects, while maintaining strict ethical and safety standards for patients.
Participating hospitals include Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), Brightshores Health System, Collingwood General and Marine Hospital, Georgian Bay General Hospital and Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare.
Research Ethics Boards provide oversight for studies involving people, ensuring research is conducted safely and ethically while protecting participants' rights, dignity and well-being. Under the new model, hospitals will be able to use a single ethics review process for studies taking place across participating sites.
Hospital leaders say the shared approach will reduce duplication, lower costs and speed up the launch of research projects throughout the region.
“This is an exciting step forward for hospitals, researchers, and communities across our region,” said Dr. Nancy Trimble, retired family doctor and CO-REB Chair. “When hospitals work together, we can create sustainable pathways for patients to access research opportunities closer to where they receive care.”
The regional board builds on RVH's existing Research Ethics Board, expanding it into a shared governance model that can support multiple healthcare organizations.
According to organizers, the initiative addresses a long-standing challenge facing community hospitals. While more than 65 per cent of Ontario's hospitalized patients receive care in community hospitals, access to formal research infrastructure has traditionally been concentrated in larger academic centres.
Susan Marlin, President of Clinical Trials Ontario, said the partnership will strengthen research capacity across the region.
“Community hospitals are essential to expanding Ontario’s clinical trials ecosystem, but they need practical infrastructure that helps them participate efficiently and consistently,” Marlin said. “By supporting shared ethics review across community hospitals, CO-REB helps make more sites trial-ready, reduces duplication, improves study start-up, and maintains strong protections for research participants.”
Organizers say the framework has been designed to expand over time, allowing additional hospitals and healthcare teams to join the network. They hope the model will help create a more connected research environment and ensure patients in rural and smaller communities have a greater role in shaping healthcare research that reflects local needs.
The launch of CO-REB marks a significant step toward bringing more research opportunities, clinical trials and healthcare innovation closer to home for residents across Central Ontario.
