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HealthCareCAN, the national voice of hospitals and health care organizations in Canada, and Algonquin College have signed a mutli-level agreement for the delivery of health-science and health-related online professional development programs. The partnership will allow Algonquin College to broaden its program offerings to adults working in the health care sector who are seeking to upgrade their skills through professional development.

As of September 1st, 2017, students enrolled in HealthCareCAN‘s Health Information Management (HIM) and Food Service and Nutrition Management (FSNM) programs will be working towards certificates of achievement that will be jointly conferred by Algonquin College and HealthCareCAN.

“One of our strategic mandates is strengthened partnerships with both alumni and employers,” said Cheryl Jensen, President of Algonquin College. “Our new relationship with HealthCareCAN and its professional development division, CHA Learning, is important to doing both. CHA Learning has been delivering distance education to its members and Canada’s health care employers for over 65 years, and is renowned in health care for its practical and innovative delivery of online learning. This aligns with the College’s own reputation for alternate classroom delivery via our Centre for Continuing & Online Learning, Corporate Training, and through special initiatives such as Healthy Living Education.” Healthy Living Education is a strategic direction that brings new health related programming to Algonquin at a pivotal time in health human resource planning and system transformation.

This agreement marks the first step of a multi-phased affiliation. The partners will be exploring the shared development of additional health-related training, collaborating on applied research and funding opportunities, and establishing learning pathways and articulation agreements between HealthCareCAN courses and the College’s credit and non-credit programming.

By partnering with Algonquin College, HealthCareCAN will broaden the scope of its professional development service to is pan-Canadian members and stakeholders. This affiliation will also add to the quality of CHA Learning’s programming, which will align its curriculum with Algonquin College.

“We are proud to partner with one of the finest post-secondary institutions in Canada,” said Paul-Émile Cloutier, President and CEO of HealthCareCAN. “Algonquin College is renowned for being learner-driven, with an unwavering commitment to the personal and professional success of its learners. With a focus on innovation and quality and employability, it is dedicated to both the use of technology and experiential learning that connects learners with the fields in which they work and seek employment.”

“This agreement not only provides our alumni and community partners with access to additional professional development opportunities in the health sector, but it also offers HealthCareCAN clients a potential pathway to our products and services through a combination of face-to-face, hybrid, and online offerings,” said Dr. Patrick Devey, Dean of the Centre for Continuing and Online Learning.