HEALTH TRAINING BY SATELLITE REQUESTED BY ALBERTA AND MANITOBA

Released on February 5, 1997

Health Minister Eric Cline noted today that for the first time a health
training program being held in Regina is being transmitted to Alberta
and Manitoba in addition to Saskatchewan sites.

The workshop, Planning for Action: What Determines Health, is being
offered today by Saskatchewan Health in co-operation with the Prairie
Region Health Promotion Research Centre. The centre is one of six
university-based health promotion research centres across Canada. Its
purpose is to foster and support health promotion research by linking
community-based organizations, health promotion practitioners, policy
makers and researchers in two provinces and five universities in the
region.

The Regina workshop is being narrowcast by the Saskatchewan
Communications Network (SCN) to more than 700 participants in 37
communities throughout the province, in addition to sites in Alberta
and Manitoba.

"Making good use of our resources is an important part of health
renewal in this province," Cline said. "Saskatchewan Health fulfils
this key goal in part by providing continuous learning opportunities,
skill upgrading and professional programs through the services of SCN.
Now other provinces will join us as we learn more about the factors
that determine health and the strategies our health districts are using
to improve the well-being of residents."

Participants will include representatives from health districts as well
as other sectors including social services, education, justice,
recreation, agriculture, environment, highways and municipal
government.

Presenters include Dr. David Butler-Jones, Saskatchewan's chief medical
health officer and Saskatchewan Health's executive director of
Population Health Branch; Dr. Robert A. Faulkner, dean of the College
of Physical Education, University of Saskatchewan; and Joan Feather,
co-ordinator of the Prairie Region Health Promotion Research Centre.

Saskatchewan Health uses the satellite conferencing services of SCN to
bring skills training and information updates to people in communities
throughout the province. People at the satellite receiving sites
communicate by telephone or facsimile to ask questions of speakers and
receive immediate answers. Satellite training for health service
providers is a cost-efficient and effective method of reaching people
regardless of weather or distance.

To date 24 workshops sponsored by Saskatchewan Health have been
produced on a wide variety of health-related topics. In the last five
years more than 7,000 individuals have attended training sessions on
topics including fetal alcohol syndrome, breast cancer, eating
disorders, alcohol and other drug use and infection control.

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For more information, contact:

Mark Seland
Communications and Public Information
Saskatchewan Health
Regina
Phone: (306) 787-3825