cerah partners in $1.7 million project: inter-professional geriatric education
(june 9, 2008 - thunder bay, on) 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 's centre for education & research on aging and health (cerah) is pleased to announce $1.7 million in funding from the ministry of health & long term care for a provincial project, developed in partnership with the regional geriatric programs (rgps) of ontario, which focuses on geriatrics, inter-professional, and inter-organizational care (giic).
population aging presents significant challenges to ontario's health care system as over 80% of seniors have one or more chronic health conditions, and approximately 43% have three or more health conditions. the latter group of seniors is at risk for frailty, increased health system usage, loss of capacity for independent living, and subsequently a lowered quality of life. within our aging population, frail seniors may be the fastest growing demographic across the province, particularly in the northern regions.
"cerah will collaborate with st. joseph's care group (sjcg) to implement this project, which serves as an excellent opportunity to build on the expertise of both organizations while developing stronger partnerships with primary care providers across the region," says cerah director dr. mary lou kelley. mieke busman, chief nursing officer at sjcg adds, "st. joseph's care group is excited to partner with cerah on this project and to continuously improve the quality of care provided to our frail seniors."
over the next few months, project consultants will be contacting the region's family health teams, community health centres, and other primary health care providers to present more detail on this project and to identify local needs. organizations will later have the opportunity to identify members of their staff who are interested in becoming local leaders in geriatric care. these individuals will assist their organizations in the important task of caring for frail seniors.
"we agree with the provincial health ministry that quality geriatric care is based on an inter-professional team approach and requires collaboration across a variety of organizations," kelley emphasizes. "these will be core elements of the training, coaching, and support provided to local geriatric leaders."
the long-term goal of this project is the development of a network of professionals and knowledge-sharing process that will result in the ongoing provision of quality care for frail seniors across both the province and the region.
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media: cerah spokesperson dr. mary lou kelley is
available for media interview from
12 noon - 1:00 p.m. this afternoon. interviews can be arranged by contacting marie lehtonen at 766-7299. for more information, please contact heather scott, communications
officer, 807-343-8177, 807-472-9113, or commun@lakeheadu.ca.
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