Kia Canada Québec Dealers Drive Change by supporting 'Doctors on Wheels' mobile health care unit in Québec

• Award-winning 2013 Kia Sorentos will be used to outreach to individuals throughout Québec with medical research and educational activities
• Groundbreaking partnership between McGill University and Jewish General Hospital

MONTREAL, Aug. 21, 2012 /CNW/ - Kia Canada Québec dealers are proud to announce a completely new initiative to Canada that will Drive Change by supporting the 'Doctors on Wheels' Mobile Lab program with McGill University and the Jewish General Hospital. Two 2013 Kia Sorento Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) will be provided to Dr. Amir Raz, and his colleague, Dr. Cory Harris, to travel into urban centres and remote areas to outreach immobile residents that do not have health care readily available. They will conduct a wide variety of medical research with a mission to educate residents they help and advance scientific research.

Dr. Raz is the Canada Research Chair in the Cognitive Neuroscience of Attention, an esteemed professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University, and a Senior Researcher for Medical Research at the Jewish General Hospital. Dr. Harris is a Canadian Institute of Health Research Banting Postdoctoral Fellow for the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, while also working closely with the Medical Research team at McGill University.

In addition to community outreach, social impact, knowledge dissemination, and the advancement of science, the Kia "Doctors on Wheels" program supports the activities of researchers at the Jewish General Hospital, The Lady David Institute and McGill University. The Kia Sorentos will lead the way to a new type of research, where science and researchers travel to the public, paving the road for a partnership that will evolve in the future.

"Kia Canada Quebec dealers are honoured to participate in such a groundbreaking initiative that will support Dr. Raz and Dr. Harris through their journey of Driving Change," said Maria Soklis, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Kia Canada Inc. "We are confident that our world-class Sorento SUVs will facilitate their initiative to take heath care to the next level."

"It is a pleasure to embark on this unique partnership with Kia Canada's Québec dealerships," said Dr. Amir Raz. "The project is a model of synergy and will spread knowledge, interface with and stimulate the lives of many throughout urban and remote areas of Québec, benefiting the lives of those we help and their surrounding families."

"The 'Doctors on Wheels' Mobile Lab program represents a change for the better in Québec, and Kia's surrounding dealerships are excited to see the vehicles and doctors Driving Change on the road," said Daniel Beaucage, Montreal Dealer Communication Group member. "The initiative breathes new life to the roadways of Québec making a distinct statement on how Kia Canada's Québec dealerships are making a difference in communities by providing healthcare to those in need."

The 'Doctors on Wheels' program with Dr. Raz and Dr. Harris will continue for three years. In that time thousands of people will have necessary health care provided to them that previously would not have been possible. The doctors will be receiving the Sorentos at the end of August and will begin their journey to improve communities across the province of Québec.

Kia Canada Inc. (www.kia.ca - www.facebook.com/kiacanada) -- a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart -- is a subsidiary of Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) in Korea was founded in 1999 and sells and services high quality class leading vehicles like the Soul, Forte, Optima and Sorento through a network of 176 dealers nationwide. Kia Canada Inc. employs 163 people in its Mississauga, Ontario headquarters and four regional offices across Canada. Kia's brand slogan -- "The Power to Surprise" -- represents the company's global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting & inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations.

SOURCE: KIA Canada Inc.

Kia Canada Inc. Media Contacts:
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Daniel Ponzini 
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e-mail: [email protected]