Sheridan College asks Brampton for $2.5M to kickstart expanded health-focused campus

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Published September 7, 2021 at 1:13 pm

Sheridan College wants to bring a massive new Centre for Healthy Communities campus to Brampton and is asking the City to contribute $2.5M over the next two years.

Part of Sheridan’s Campus Master Plan, the 150,000 sq.-m. facility will build on the college’s existing health programs and focus on upstream care and chronic disease prevention.

Officials from the college will be making their pitch at tomorrow’s Committee of Council meeting.

The Ryerson medical school will also be part of the project. The ultimate goal will be to expand clinical care, meet community health needs by educating allied health professionals and develop innovative health education programming to meet local workforce needs.

In addition, a new transit hub will be a critical piece of infrastructure the college believes will become the preferred choice to connect Sheridan with the surrounding community.

According to the College’s presentation, Brampton is facing a health care crisis:

  • 62 per cent of Peel residents are obese or overweight.
  • 58 per cent of Brampton residents are not physically active.
  • 48 per cent of Peel residents report having at least one diagnosed chronic health disease.
  • 73 per cent of Brampton’s population report being a visible minority4 and a lack of access to culturally and racially competent care fosters health inequity.
  • 15-20 per cent of South Asians will develop type 2 diabetes mellitus, putting them at elevated risk compared to other populations.
  • Less than 1 per cent of the provincial healthcare budget is spent on health promotion.
  • Ontario will be short 37,000 nurses and personal support workers for long-term care alone by 2024.
  • Ontario’s surgery backlog will reach 419,000 elective and 2.5 million diagnostic procedures by October.

Sheridan believes its graduates can address many of the region’s needs, but they need room to grow. Several new health-related programs will be added to the curriculum with a capacity to instruct more than 3,500 students.

The Davis campus of Sheridan College is located on the southeast corner of McLaughlin Rd. S. and Steeles Ave. W.

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