(Editor’s note: News releases are published unedited, unless they contain factual errors.)
Surprise, AZ (June 20, 2017) Surprise, Arizona could be the next top destination for Canadian medical travel. In the June 20th Surprise City Council Work Session, guest speaker Marc Kealey, CEO of Kealey & Associates in Toronto, Canada co-presented with Surprise Economic Development Director Jeanine Jerkovic on the feasibility of a new Canadian medical service center in Surprise aimed at patients who desire the excellence of Canadian standards without the increasingly challenging wait times for services.
In February 2017, Mayor Wolcott announced the appointment of Jerkovic and Kealey as co-chairs for a cross-border taskforce to research and identify ways in which Surprise can support expanded healthcare services to Canadians who visit or reside in the region. Taskforce members on both sides of the border have been invited and engaged, and subsequent cross-border symposiums are getting scheduled through the end of the year to develop a feasibility and implementation strategy.
Canada Arizona Business Council President and CEO Glenn Williamson expressed support for the concept: “I am particularly thrilled to see Surprise creating an opportunity to help relieve some of the pressure on the Canadian medical system as it relates to wait times and options for medical services. Arizona has long been a medical retreat for many Canadians; how exciting to see Surprise work to take it to the next level.”
Arizona is home to more than 350 Canadian companies and more than 1.1 million Canadians visit our state annually.
According to a February 2017 report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, Canadians tend to be highly satisfied with their healthcare quality, however they also tend to wait longer to receive healthcare services than their peers in other countries. The comparison countries in the report included the United States, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, New Zealand, Switzerland, the UK, Australia and France. The initiative in Surprise is aimed at alleviating current pressures on Canadian healthcare wait times while promoting the best of Canadian quality services.
Kealey & Associates is an advocacy and strategy implementation firm in Canada specializing in healthcare and drug reform. For more information about Kealey & Associates, visit http://kealeyandassociates.com/.
For more information about Economic Development in Surprise visit www.surpriseaz.gov/econdev.
