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Health and Education
$4-million research chairs will enhance health and care of seniors
KITCHENER, ON - The University of Waterloo and Conestoga College are announcing a $4-million donation to establish five research chairs dedicated to enhancing the health and care of seniors in Ontario and across Canada.
The $4-million donation comes from former UW professor Ronald Schlegel,
adding to his initial $2-million donation to found the Schlegel-UW Research
Institute for Aging (RIA). Four of the research chairs on aging will be based
at UW and a program chair for enhanced seniors' care will be located at
Conestoga College.
"I am pleased to provide funding to promote research in aging that will
improve the quality of life and quality of care for our seniors," says Ron
Schlegel, president of Winston Park and Oakwood Retirement Communities.
"Research and innovation lead the way in advancing other areas in society, and
we must invest with equal or higher priority in our seniors as well. They are
the ones who have built our communities which we all enjoy today, and we owe
it to them to maximize their life enjoyment at this time in their lives."
UW's four new Schlegel research chairs will focus on neuroscience
(functional abilities), dementia, optimal medication and geriatric medicine,
all key health areas in an aging population. The chairs will be based in the
faculty of applied health sciences and UW's Kitchener health sciences campus.
One of the chairs has already been filled by Dr. Safa Elgamal, a
physician from Egypt, who will study the impact of physical activity in
slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease in the early stages.
"This very generous gift from Dr. Schlegel will enable the University of
Waterloo and Conestoga College to create a synergy that will generate timely
advances in the health and care of our seniors," says UW president David
Johnston.
The chair at Conestoga College is designed to improve the care of seniors
in the local community. The chairholder, who will be named shortly, will take
the lead in developing and setting up an innovative education and training
program that will enhance the care provided for seniors by health-care and
community service professionals.
The chair will play a guiding role in curriculum design and enhancement
of seniors' care content across health-related disciplines at the college and
will develop training programs for professionals already working in the field.
The chair will also conduct applied research and develop evidence-informed
practices in human health resources utilization for long-term care and
home-based care for seniors.
"We need a workforce with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to meet the
needs of an aging population that is growing rapidly," says John Tibbits,
president of Conestoga College. "This partnership will help us meet that
challenge and be leaders in the province and the country in that regard."
The RIA offers direct links to research and expertise on aging, along
with access to eight seniors' residences across southwestern Ontario. These
communities, housing about 3,000 seniors, provide a continuum of care,
including independent living, retirement home living, assisted-living and
long-term care. Research and program innovations developed here are then
disseminated to all seniors' care agencies across the province, once proven in
these research and learning environments.
The RIA, created in 2005, and the five new research chairs are the
product of a $6-million commitment from Schlegel. Each chair will receive
approximately $100,000 per year, with matching funds from the home
institutions, for the next 10 years. A portion of the funds will also fund
scholarships and other support for students.
The creation of the chairs was celebrated on Friday afternoon at an event
that included Ontario's minister of health and long-term care, George
Smitherman. For more information on the RIA and the chairs, download
backgrounders from www.the-ria.ca.
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