Conestoga news

November 29, 2016 10:07 AM

Leadership gift fuels growth in health and community services programming

On November 8, Larry Ryan, president of Frank Cowan Company, visited Conestoga's Doon campus to present President John Tibbits with the final instalment of an extraordinary leadership gift provided by The Cowan Foundation to support the expansion of the college’s School of Health & Life Sciences and Community Services.

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Larry Ryan (left) presents a cheque from The Cowan Foundation to President John Tibbits.

The Cowan Health Sciences Centre is a 70,000 square foot applied learning and research facility for health and life sciences located on Conestoga's Doon campus. Opened in Fall 2011, the Centre is designed to promote active, technology-enhanced learning in real-life settings, and has been instrumental in Conestoga’s ability to prepare both current and future health care professionals to excel in meeting the care needs of our growing community.

Facilities include fully equipped practice labs, complete with high-fidelity human patient simulators that can represent medical conditions from mild to critical, as well as an apartment and an assisted living suite where students learn to deliver care and perfect their skills in environments similar to those they encounter as practitioners.

In addition to supporting the expansion of Conestoga’s full-time programming in health, life sciences and community services, the Cowan Health Sciences Centre has provided new training opportunities for in-service professionals and medical students from across the community and beyond.

“We are very grateful for the support that The Cowan Foundation has provided for Conestoga,” said President John Tibbits. “Their generous investment provided the foundation for the transformation of our School of Health & Life Sciences and Community Services, now recognized as a leader in the delivery of education and training for health care.”

The Cowan Foundation was started in 1995 in honour of Frank Cowan, the founder of Frank Cowan Company and Cowan Insurance Group. The Foundation is sustained by the ongoing success of the Princeton Holdings group of companies including Cowan Insurance Group (and its subsidiaries: The Williamson Group, Millennium CreditRisk Management, Wentworth Financial Services and Cowan Financial Solutions), Frank Cowan Company, The Guarantee Company of North America and Cowan Asset Management. Together they provide insurance and risk management products and services for individuals, businesses, organizations and public entities as well as assist employers with their group benefits, retirement and health and disability management plans.

The goal of The Cowan Foundation is to make a positive difference in the lives of Canadians and the broader well-being of our communities. For more information, visit www.cowanfoundation.ca