York University’s Glendon Campus awarded funding to expand French language health care education related to neurodegenerative disease

York University’s Glendon Campus awarded funding to expand French language health care education related to neurodegenerative disease

TORONTO, June 28, 2019 – The federal government, through the Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS), announced yesterday new funding of $1 million over five years to York University’s bilingual campus, Glendon College, to improve training in French language health services.

With this funding, Glendon will establish a new certificate in dementia and cognitive health and a specialized bachelor’s degree in neuropsychology. These programs will provide health professionals in Francophone communities in Southern Ontario meaningful access to training focused on recent advances, strategies and treatment modalities for Francophone and bilingual people who are vulnerable to the cognitive problems associated with aging.

The new programs, expected to launch in fall 2019, will offer front-line workers access to French language expertise in cognitive health, thereby maximizing the health care workforce’s ability to manage the conditions associated with cognitive impairment, while expanding the offer of care in French in Southern Ontario.

Learners who receive this new training will benefit from hands-on experience, developing skills tailored to the unique realities of Francophones in Ontario. The certification will enable them to better serve francophone seniors in their mother tongue, regardless of their needs or particular situations.

“Our Glendon campus at York University has been providing high-quality bilingual and French-language programs for over 50 years. This new funding will help us further expand access to postsecondary education for Francophones,” said Rhonda L. Lenton, president and vice-chancellor of York University. “Using a collaborative and inclusive approach with other providers of French-language services, York and Glendon continue to respond to emerging needs in areas such as health services, strengthening connections within the Francophone community.”

The number of francophones suffering from a degenerative disease in southern Ontario is expected to increase by 34% by 2020, increasing demand for specialized health care in this domain.

“I am pleased to see the offer of initial, continuing education and research in the field of aging and cognitive health expanded through CNFS,” said Dominique Scheffel-Dunand, interim co-principal of York’s Glendon Campus. “These developments in neuropsychology at Glendon will help address the challenges identified in the field of cognitive health in official language minority communities.”

In addition, Glendon campus will host a CNFS summer school in 2020 to improve and accelerate the mobilization of knowledge, the sharing of resources, and augment the crucial collaboration between researchers and front-line, French speaking health care workers.

“Our government is committed to facing the challenges of Francophone minority communities by promoting access to health services in the patient’s preferred official language,” said the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health. “This funding will strengthen training initiatives and improve access to bilingual health professionals so that members of minority Francophone communities can get the best health services possible.”

York University champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni.
York U’s fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario’s Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

Media Contact:

Yanni Dagonas Media Relations, York University, yannidag@yorku.ca, 647-468-7850