NorthernOntarioHeritage Fund $1 million for Reach
It was exciting to tour the new $22 plus REACH building at Confederation College. This 47,000 square foot expansion completed by Manshield Construction features a state of the art dental training area and medical treatment areas complete with many dummies. The new
facility was awarded additional funds from the Ontario government to be used for equipment.
“ There have been many chapters of the decade plus of President Lang at Confederation College and we are seeing the impact of her work on the college and the economy. One very important chapter will be the REACH building. Working with Pat over the last years has been
tremendous for Bill and myself.” said Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development Mines and Forestry.
“We are pleased to announce $1 million from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund for Reach. We have invested almost $60 billion in infrastructure in the last 7.5 years in Ontario. It has created massive jobs and allows places like Confederation College to expand. Our original investment in REACH was $14.6 million through the Community Infrastructure program and now $1 million more to support the building. This will allow 400 more students to attend Confederation College because of the REACH additional space.” said Bill Mauro MPP Thunder Bay
Atikokan.
“ This is an exciting day. Our firefighter program is now full and has a waiting list that is part of our increase of 400 students in REACH. The potential is we can reach the communities we serve across NW Ontario. The dental clinic and simulation labs are amazing. This funding allows us to invest in equipment,” said Pat Lang, former President of Confederation College. “ What motivates us is our faculty showed what it could be like with a new facility and asked us to support it. The students are very excited about coming back here in September. The total cost of the project is $22.6 million with about $ 8million in new equipment at REACH. Some of the equipment including simulators will be located in the region. They simulate real life situations so can cry or perspire. If you put a bar code of a drug past their mouth they react as thought they have taken the drug. They can talk back to you and are highly interactive. The idea is to make the leaning experience as real as possible.”
“ WOW this is a great platform for learning. The possibilities of new types of learning and people getting really hands on in the health care field are great at REACH. The outreach to the region is fantastic as well. The additional finds are integral to the equipment,”said Jim Madder, current President of Confederation College. “For example here in the dental area the chairs are computer monitored and all of the records will be e records so the students can work with front end technology.”
