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Green light for Health and Sport Centre
The University of the Sunshine Coast Council has approved an immediate start on construction of a specialised Health and Sport Centre to be built alongside USC’s new Indoor Sports Stadium.
At the official opening of the stadium today, USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Thomas AM spoke about the five-storey facility which will be used for research, teaching and improving community health.
The centre will accommodate USC’s new school of Health and Sport Sciences, public health clinics, testing and research laboratories, a fitness centre, premises for the University’s Centre for Healthy Activities, Sport and Exercise (CHASE) and staff offices.
It will enable the University to offer new programs in physiotherapy, occupational therapy and psychology.
The University last year launched a $3.5million public fundraising campaign to assist with the construction of the Health and Sport Centre. The Building Excellence Campaign is in progress and has gained strong community support.
In May, the Federal Government pledged $3.5 million over the next two years which has provided a major boost to the project.
CHASE director Brendan Burkett said the Health and Sport Centre would enable the University to do further research which would directly benefit Sunshine Coast residents.
“The Health and Sport Centre will give us that conduit to reach out into the community,” he said. “It will help us deliver services in training medical professionals on the Coast as well as patients.”
He said disease management was likely to be one of the main areas of research at the centre, along with clinical exercise science, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and the development of a falls prevention program.