The Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development makes $15 million funding announcement at Southlake Regional Health Centre. Partners match funds, resulting in $34+ million earmarked for collaborative and innovative Health Ecosphere.
On July 21, 2016, The Honourable Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), announced $15 million in new funding at Southlake Regional Health Centre. This federal investment, to build a new patient-focused healthcare centre, will be matched by $19.5 million from 32 partners that are developing three dozen new healthcare technologies, resulting in a total budget of $34.5 million for the project.
“Our Government is committed to positioning Canada as a global centre for innovation – one that creates jobs, drives growth across all industries and improves the lives of all Canadians. Today’s announcement is a prime example of that policy in action. The most innovative solutions often happen when people from different fields collaborate. That’s why it’s important for universities, healthcare providers, the business community and government to work together. That’s how we will come up with healthcare solutions that improve the quality of life for all Canadians,” said Minister Bains.
Navdeep Bains, minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), with York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. Photo credit: YFile.
The project, Health Ecosphere: An Innovation Pipeline for Commercial Health Solutions, brings researchers and scientists together with business to develop technologies to coordinate healthcare across systems that previously operated in silos.
“This important investment by the Government of Canada recognizes the critical role of innovation and knowledge mobilization in both health promotion and healthcare. It will enable York to build on the success of our Connected Health and Wellness Project (CHWP), which demonstrated the power of providing individuals with the technology and tools they need to manage their health,” said York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. “York has collaborated with Southlake for many years, and we anticipate an even closer working relationship as we look forward to our new campus opening in Markham Centre.”
York University’s Faculty of Health is the lead academic partner and administrative centre for the Health Ecosphere project, which is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Harvey Skinner. Southlake Regional Health Centre, the largest healthcare facility in York Region, will be the lead clinical partner, and University Health Network (UHN) will play a major role as a key academic partner. Each institution is leading a suite of technologies to be developed and commercialized. Working together, they will create a health technology cluster in York Region.
York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Through cross-discipline programming, innovative course design, diverse experiential learning and a supportive community environment, our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. 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 295,000 alumni.