Prof's role in Ontario home care plan

John Hirdes of UW’s health studies and gerontology department (right) was among the guests at an event yesterday in Markham as the Ontario government announced its $700 million “Aging at Home Strategy”.

Research being done at UW is key to the health ministry’s efforts, Hirdes said after health minister George Smitherman announced the plan, with most of the money to be spent through the recently created Local Health Integration Networks “so that seniors can live healthy, independent lives in their own homes”.

The province announced earlier this month that Hirdes has been awarded the Ontario Chair in Home Care Research and Knowledge Exchange. “The issue of home care is a topic of growing interest to the public and researchers alike,” a health ministry news release said then. “The Chair will lead a home care research consortium, actively promote research in home care, communicate research findings, and broker this knowledge so it can be used by decision-makers, planners and providers.”

With more than two decades of applied research experience, he’s known across Canada and internationally as a researcher committed to improving the experiences of those living and working in the home care and long-term care sectors. Based at UW, he is cross-appointed to the department of medicine, University of Toronto; community health sciences, University of Manitoba; gerontological studies at McMaster University; and the department of family and nutritional Studies at the University of Guelph. Hirdes is also the scientific director of the Homewood Research Institute at Homewood Health Centre in Guelph. The ministry will provide annual funding support of $170,000 for the chair award for three years with a possible two-year extension.

Hirdes has already completed a $1.86 million study of home care and primary care, funded by the Primary Health Care Transition Fund. “We conducted a major study of community support agencies (the focus of today’s announcement) to evaluate the use of a new standardized assessment system my group developed for that sector,” he explains. “We pilot-tested the instrument with about 1,000 seniors in 18 different community support agencies across Ontario.

“We found tremendous diversity in the needs of seniors served by these organizations, ranging from relatively independent seniors with light care needs to community based seniors with complex health and social service needs. There was widespread agreement that there is a need for a standardized, scientifically sound assessment approach in community support agencies that would be compatible with other sectors including Community Care Access Centres, long term care, geriatric psychiatry, and complex continuing care hospitals.”

In addition, he says, “we recently hosted a 21-country conference in Ottawa, where we reported that the quality of home care for the frail elderly in Ontario CCACs has improved significantly since 2002. We completed a major research project on funding methodologies for home care that involved research on over 30,000 clients in 8 CCACs. And we are engaged in several large scale pharmacoepidemiological studies in home care including studies on underuse of antidepressants, inappropriate prescribing related to osteoporosis medications, and impact of the ban on Vioxx on home care clients with arthritis.”

At least five other UW faculty members are also doing research on home care, Hirdes added.

Yesterday, the province’s Liberal government made a pre-election announcement of its $700 million program. "Our goal is to open a whole world of opportunity for seniors that will offer new lifestyle choices that are reflective of how Ontario's seniors truly want to live," said Smitherman. "As our population ages, we need to look for innovative solutions that are more responsive to their needs and allow seniors to continue to live in comfort and with respect in their own homes, ideally for the rest of their days."

He said the LHINs “will lead an exciting initiative that will impact the way services are delivered and help provide more equitable access to health care by matching the needs of the local senior population with the appropriate support services. These services could include enhanced home care and community support services like meals, transportation, shopping, snow shoveling, friendly home calling, adult day programs, homemaking services and caregiver supports.”

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CBET students can aid researchers

Researchers at local universities and colleges now have another incentive for working to commercialize their discoveries. Smart Start is a competitive program newly launched in a joint effort by the Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology, the Accelerator Centre, and the Intellectual Property Management Group (formerly known as the Technology Transfer and Licensing Office) in UW’s Office of Research.

George Dixon, vice-president (university research), sets out the details in a recent memo to researchers and research administrators across campus. “The Smart Start program,” says the memo, “has been developed to encourage fourth-year and graduate students, working with CBET students, to form teams with UW researchers/faculty to commercialize intellectual property that is under development by the researchers.”

Researchers based at Conestoga College, Wilfrid Laurier, and the University of Guelph “will also be eligible for consideration to participate in the program.”

How it works: Researchers will present posters describing their intellectual property at an Innovation Fair to be held at the Accelerator Centre on October 9. The researchers and students will meet at the fair and form teams, and a panel will choose which teams will participate in the Smart Start competition. These teams will each receive an equal share of $50,000 to further develop the research discoveries.

They will have eight months to work on their business plans, with coaching, if desired, from CBET students and faculty members. At the end of eight months the panel will choose the five teams “that have made the most progress,” the memo says. Those teams “may each be eligible to receive a $25,000 investment in their company, should they wish to form a company and continue with their commercialization efforts.” They will also be eligible to locate in the Accelerator Centre, and to take part in the LaunchPad $50K competition, “which is expected to have prizes of up to $100,000 in value.”

The top team will also win the use of two Smart Cars (right), donated by Victoria Star Motors, for a year.

“The UW researchers and students participating in the Smart Start program will also be eligible to become clients of the IPMG if they wish,” the memo continues. “Where appropriate, the IPMG will work with the teams” to help them patent their intellectual property, apply for grants from funding agencies, and raise investment capital.

Full details, including information on how to get in touch with the Smart Start organizers, are available online.

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Football team trains; rinks get ready

It's football season, or at least pre-season, as training camp for the 2007 Warriors began on August 19 and continues through this Sunday. Monday's Record reported on a Sunday scrimmage between UW's Warriors and the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks, who tried out the new artificial turf at University Stadium. The WLU-owned stadium has experienced a $5 million upgrade and become "Knight-Newbrough Field", bearing the names of two great Laurier coaches (including Tuffy Knight, who also served some golden years at UW).

“After a 3-5 finish to last year’s season and narrowly missing the playoffs,” Dan Ackerman of the athletics department reports, “the Warriors hope to build on a strong finish to the year under new head coach Dennis McPhee. McPhee brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the Warriors and a bright future to the Waterloo football program.

“Offensive co-coordinator and former CFL head coach Joe Paopao will assist McPhee in the pursuit of guiding the Warriors to their first playoff berth in 4 years. McPhee, Paopao and offensive line co-coordinator Marshall Bingeman eagerly await the crop of players attending this year’s fall camp.” He quotes McPhee: “The talent and excitement level of all the boys heading into camp is what has impressed me the most. They have done a remarkable job of buying into the system throughout the off season by working hard and staying in shape.

For what’s described as “a vigorous and demanding camp”, such tactics as bringing in alumni player Jarrett Smith to run sprint lines have been implemented to increase agility and endurance. Certified exercise physiologist Lori Kraemer will conduct many physically demanding workout programs to increase fitness levels.

“At the completion of training camp,” says Ackerman, “the Warriors will be physically and mentally prepared to compete in the OUA with a coaching staff confident and optimistic for the season that lies ahead.” The Warriors will open their season with a game at Toronto on Labour Day, then host York on September 8.

Looking ahead to the sports of winter, the Canadian Curling Association and Canadian Interuniversity Sport have announced that Waterloo will host the first-ever official CCA/CIS curling championships at the Guelph and Elora Curling Clubs March 12-16, 2008.

The university championships will be a women's and men's invitational event, CIS said, and entry will be open to one team of each sex from CIS-sanctioned universities. "We are committed to this being a very prestigious event for the student-athletes and all the participants," says Judy McCrae, UW athletics director. "There is overwhelming excitement by the curling clubs to host the championships." The winners of the 2008 event will represent Canada at the Winter Universiade (World University Games) in Harbin, China, in February 2009.

"CIS looks forward to partnering with the CCA to provide an additional opportunity for student-athletes to excel in the classroom and on the ice," commented CIS Chief Executive Officer, Marg McGregor. "We are very optimistic about the exciting potential of these championships." And Al Forsythe, president of the curling association, adds that "The CCA's relationship with CIS is a dynamic partnership that will allow us to develop the sport at the university level in Canada. Growth in the post-junior ranks should improve as this event will bridge competitive development from junior to adult." He added that UW “has a long-standing tradition of operating a first rate curling program, and working with the Guelph and Elora Curling Clubs will result in a world-class event."

CAR

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