Leadership Announcement: Chief, Integrated Community Program

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Saswata Deb, as Chief of the Integrated Community Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, effective October 1, 2025.

Dr. Deb is an Emergency Physician and Clinician-Scientist at Sunnybrook, and an Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. He has worked in health care for over 20 years, with experience across multiple fields and specialties, including cardiac surgery, family and community medicine and emergency medicine.

Dr. Deb’s clinical and research focus is on health equity and empowering communities to overcome barriers to care and health education, with a particular emphasis on cardiovascular emergencies. He has led and collaborated with many teams to identify and address health equity gaps, including initiatives that empower communities with socioeconomic challenges by providing access to CPR training. Earlier this year, Dr. Deb led the inaugural Emergency Room (ER) Discovery Day, in which high school students from across the Greater Toronto Area spent their PA Day learning about different career paths and professions that serve the hospital’s emergency department.

He has been part of Sunnybrook for nearly 30 years in various capacities—beginning as a volunteer, continuing through his training, and now as a physician and researcher. He also grew up in the neighbourhood after immigrating from India with his family, attending Northlea Public School and Leaside High School. His longstanding connection to Sunnybrook and the local community have positioned him to lead the Integrated Community Program and build on the program’s role creating system transformation to improve access in the areas of primary, community and specialized care.

In his new role, Dr. Deb looks forward to working with the exceptional Sunnybrook team and our community partners to strengthen care delivery for the people and communities we serve.

We would like to extend our sincerest appreciation to Dr. Steve Shadowitz for his outstanding leadership as the inaugural Chief of the Integrated Community Program. Over the past five years, he has been instrumental in supporting and advancing initiatives such as the new Peter Cipriano Centre for Seniors Health and the B1 CONNECT Clinic, alongside many dedicated colleagues. His leadership has left a lasting legacy on the program and care in our community.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Deb as he steps into this important leadership role. We are confident he will continue to make impactful contributions to inventing the future of health care, by supporting a system that prioritizes patients and improves outcomes for all.