Mission, Vision & Mandate
The primary goal of the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging (RIA) is to enhance the care of senior citizens in both community-based and long-term care environments through the development and implementation of innovative research and training programs. The research collaborations and training initiatives fostered by the RIA are practical, hands-on, and have a direct link to resident quality of life.
RIA is a product of the philanthropic spirit and vision of Dr. Ron Schlegel, whose family has been providing long-term care to Ontario residents since the 1950s. Co-owner of the seven long-term care facilities that operate under Oakwood Retirement Communities Inc. and also the Village of Winston Park in Kitchener, he has committed $6 Million over 10 years (plus additional annual contributions) to develop the Institute. Additional funds and in-kind supports were secured and continue to be solicited. Memoranda of Understanding are in place with the University of Waterloo and with Conestoga College for research and training activities respectively.
The major components of the RIA include:
- Well-developed research teams within the University of Waterloo that operate under the RIA umbrella
- Emerging research teams
- Training program development in partnership with Conestoga College for Registered Staff and Personal Support Workers
- Curriculum development towards gerontology streas of study for RNs, RPNs, PSWs
- Professional development courses for registered and non-registered staff working in long-term care
- Full-time Research Associate funded to provide a bridge between research teams and seniors care homes (to facilitate access, match research projects to homes and researcher needs)
- Joint faculty appointments between RIA and the University of Waterloo (Schlegel Research Chairs). Four joint appointments are planned, in each of the following areas: polypharmacy (with the new Kitchener campus School of Pharmacy), neurophysiology, dementia and medicine (potentially with the new Kitchener campus of the McMaster School of Medicine)
- Joint faculty appointment between RIA and Conestoga College (RIA Chair for Enhanced Seniors Care)
- Seed grants to support young researchers to do research in long-term care, or to support established researchers in submitting applications for larger research grants in seniors' care
- Money for graduate student scholarships to attract the development of new researchers into the field of aging