HSN researcher gets $300,000 for work on seniors health

The Health Sciences North Volunteer Association announced it will contribute $300,000 over two years, to fund the HSN Volunteer Association Chair in Healthy Aging, currently held by Dr. Janet McElhaney.

The new contribution will top up $450,000 the volunteer association has already invested in McElhaney's research chair.

“Since the creation of this research chair in 2012, Dr. McElhaney has produced amazing results in both research and front-line care for seniors at HSN and in our community,” said Cliff Richardson, president of the HSN Volunteer Association, in a release.

“This investment has already paid huge dividends with more effective care for older adults here in Greater Sudbury and northeastern Ontario, which is why we’re proud to continue our support of Dr. McElhaney’s work.”

Health Sciences North recruited McElhaney, a geriatrician and world-leading expert on seniors health, in 2012.

Her research has focused on improving the effectiveness of vaccination for older adults, developing vaccines that can prevent or reduce disability and frailty in senior citizens, and developing and evaluating models of hospital-based and community care that can reduce the risk of frailty and disability in seniors.

“This announcement is significant because it allows us to continue to focus on how we can learn to age in the healthiest ways possible,” McElhaney said in a release. “The more we research healthy aging, the more we are able to have a direct impact on the health and well-being of older adults.”

McElhaney said frailty is no longer viewed as a result of aging, but as a medical condition that can be mitigated with healthy lifestyles and early attention to proper care, procedures and interventions to prevent disease and disability as we age.

“Through the HSN Volunteer Association Chair in Healthy Aging, Dr. McElhaney has improved the health of seniors, and put Sudbury on the international map when it comes to geriatric health,” said Health Sciences North president and CEO, Dr. Denis Roy, in a release.

“The extention of the HSN Volunteer Association’s contribution will ensure that this valuable and necessary work will continue.”