The primary goal of this big idea initiative is to provide accessible care to individuals residing in LTC institutions and/or within the community.  To accomplish this, we are proposing several concurrent and parallel project components: 

1.   The development of a nurse practitioner led health clinic (NPLC) (specializing in interprofessional older adult care) to be situated within the long-term care home (LTCH). The intention is to modify the current model of long-term care by co-creating a model of community-based family focused care for older adults and their family care partners.

2.   Focused attention to equitable, accessible, and inclusive care using a hybrid care model inclusive of face-to-face and virtual care services.

3.   We will address the need for education/training among community members (older adults / family) and multi-disciplinary health care providers to generate skilled and knowledgeable health human resources and community members.  Our approach will incorporate “work and learn” opportunities, and leverage technology to improve access to health services but also educational opportunities for health professional students and those currently employed as clinicians / staff.

4.   The co-creation of the ‘London-Aging Well Research Community’; the establishment of a ‘living’ research community that engages researchers (from relevant disciplines across Western), clinicians, community and industry partners and older adults/families at all stages of development and implementation of this community-based initiative.  Leadership of the London-Aging Well research will be shared among community and administratively centralized with the Faculty of Health Sciences at Western University. The purpose of this community-based research group is to generate research evidence to support and enhance the proposed model of older adult care.  

5.   Our mentorship approach to research will respond to ‘real world’ health care service issues (e.g., new and enhanced care practices, limited health human resources, technological infrastructure implementation and sustainability, economic modeling /sustainability, policy development, etc.) and support innovation with future-forward research initiatives.  The proposed model of research is structured around Research-Mentorship teams whereby senior researchers working with early career researchers and graduate students, community/industry partners will, through experiential training, contribute to the development of a strong evidence base that will drive policy change in the current health system.

6.         Entrepreneurial opportunities will be generated by leveraging the collaborative innovation within members of the London living research community in response to or anticipation of health care service needs.