'SARStock' Anniversary Marked with $75,000 Donation to Fund Infection Control Course

TORONTO -- One year after SARStock rocked Toronto out of its SARS-related doldrums, Molson Inc. and the Ontario Ministry of Health and   Long-Term Care have provided $75,000 to Centennial College to help put a course in infection control online for the benefit of healthcare workers.

The course teaches basic infection prevention and control principles to newly appointed infection control practitioners in healthcare facilities, as well as other professionals working in community health, long-term care facilities, homes for the aged, paramedics and support services.

   
"Centennial has been at the forefront of infection control education for years," says Centennial College president Ann Buller. "This funding will allow us to reach many more healthcare practitioners who can gain an understanding of infection epidemiology and how infection control can work effectively."

The money will allow Centennial's infection control curriculum to be

delivered on the Internet to healthcare professionals learning at home or in the workplace. The course, delivered in partnership with the Community and Hospital Infection Control Association of Canada, will take 12 to 14 weeks to complete and will include online tests to measure learning outcomes.

On July 30 of last year, 460,000 people congregated at Downsview Park at the SARStock marathon benefit bash for a city whose tourism industry was crippled by the SARS respiratory epidemic. Molson Inc. was a major sponsor of the outdoor

event, which was intended to tell the world that Toronto is a SARS-free tourist destination.

Source: Centennial College