The Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador, today announced a combined investment of $370,000 to assist the EXCITE Corporation in Grand Falls-Windsor launch an initiative designed to develop the region's e-health sector.

The announcement was made by the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway; and the Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, at College of the North Atlantic's Grand Falls-Windsor Campus.　 Minister Ashfield announced $226,500 through ACOA, and Minister Sullivan, on behalf of the Honourable Shawn Skinner, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, announced $143,500 under the Provincial Government's Regional/Sectoral Diversification Fund.

"Our government is pleased to support this initiative, which is anchored by two key objectives. The primary goal is to establish an e-health training program at College of the North Atlantic in Grand Falls-Windsor, and secondarily, develop an action plan to launch the e-health industry in Central Newfoundland," said Minister Ashfield. "In building the training program, EXCITE Corporation will work in partnership with health-care providers and the region's educational institutions."

"As a government, we are working with local municipalities and community partners to advance initiatives that breathe new opportunities into the economy of the central region," said Minister Skinner. "Creating a cluster of health-related initiatives has been a priority in our approach to diversifying the region's economy.　 By creating that multi-product environment, we are helping to position the region as an attractive business environment for health care service providers."

The EXCITE Corporation, which is the non-profit business development arm of the Town of Grand Falls-Windsor, has targeted the health care industry as a strategic sector of growth for the region. This project was developed over a period of 18 months through consultations with governments, the public health care industry, the College of the North Atlantic, the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information and private sector companies in the e-health industry.

"There is a recognized need across Canada to educate, train and develop more e-health professionals," said Al Hawkins, Mayor, Grand Falls-Windsor. "This demand is growing given the current attention that electronic health record development is receiving in Canada and the United States. The EXCITE Corporation's e-health initiative is an excellent approach to generating economic opportunities by focusing on the rapidly growing e-health sector."

The first step will be to establish a nationally accredited e-health training program at College of the North Atlantic in Grand Falls-Windsor. Once that is in place, the project plan will include a jurisdictional review and an industry scan, as well as curriculum development for the training program.

The second objective of the project will be to develop and implement an action plan supporting the establishment of the e-health industry in Grand Falls-Windsor. This will involve the identification of key industry players with significant e-health practices; and the selection of at least six potential projects with these identified industry partners.

The emerging e-health market encompasses a range of services that involve medicine, healthcare and information technology. The Canadian e-health market is currently about $5 billion per year and growing at a significant rate.

The Government of Canada investment is provided through ACOA's Innovative Communities Fund which focuses on investments that lead to long-term employment and economic capacity building.

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