Healthy spending

[SIZE="3"][B]Funding: Province awards numerous contracts for work on Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick[/B]

Premier Shawn Graham announced the awarding of more than [B]$2 million [/B]worth of contracts Wednesday that will contribute towards the opening of a medical program next fall.

"Today I am very pleased to announce that the first construction activities associated with the total capital investment of more than $19 million in new education and training facilities for health care professionals are now underway," he told a small crowd gathered in Ganong Hall at UNBSJ.

Castle Rock Construction Services Inc. has been awarded a $1.158 million contract to build anatomy and histology teaching labs at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

Avondale Construction was awarded two contracts, one for $449,000 towards construction of clinical teaching space at the hospital and the other for $492,000 for site preparation for the New Brunswick Community College Allied Health building located on the university campus.

"We've managed to recruit 144 new physicians to our province since October 2006 and these new facilities will provide New Brunswickers with the important opportunity to receive their training here at home," Graham said.

The new medical program, called Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick will also help the bottom line at UNBSJ.

The province will lease 28,000 square-feet of space from the university paying $1.1 million per year for 20 years to provide space for the medical school.

Next fall 30 New Brunswick students will begin their medical education at UNBSJ and the result will be an increase in the number of doctors working here in the future, which will aid the Liberal self-sufficiency agenda, Graham said.

Dr. Tom Marrie, dean of medicine at Dalhousie University, praised the co-operation that has taken place between the two universities to make the medical program happen.

"Usually we are fighting over the spoils," he said.

The program in New Brunswick will stimulate research which will attract more physicians, he said.

Supply and Services Minister Ed Doherty was also on hand to praise the economic benefits of the program.

"The $18 million total capital investment associated with these health care training programs will generate the equivalent of more than 150 jobs over the construction period and provide considerable stimulus to our local economy," he said.

Dr. Eddy Campbell, the new president of the University of New Brunswick, said that in 18 months UNBSJ will have a completely different look because of all the work happening around medical education.

"We are on the verge of great and significant things in the future of health research and education in our province," he said. "Speaking on behalf of the University of New Brunswick, we are very proud to be a part of it."[/SIZE]