Mission

Our mission is to promote the study of aging, in partnership with other institutions, agencies, and health and spiritual care providers in our region. As we deepen the pool of knowledge, we simultaneously apply our findings to the delivery of care and to the systematic training and support of those delivering it: current and future professionals across the continuum of care, the allied workforce, families, and other members of the community.

Goals

• Engage in study of and research into issues of aging
• Create affiliations and collaborative alliances locally, regionally, and nationally, as well as across disciplines
• Facilitate development of our region's professional infrastructure, health care facilities, residence solutions, social services, spiritual support, and other resources necessary to address the needs of our aging population
• Develop, document, disseminate, and implement best practices in the various disciplines addressing needs of mind, body and spirit, and health and wellness
• Disseminate findings through seminars and conferences, to the public and within the health and spiritual care communities
• Promote and help implement policy on a governmental and societal level, as informed by the findings and best practices emerging from Institute activities; empower our clients and their families and advocate for the needs of the aging community
• Improve the physical, social, intellectual, spiritual, vocational, and emotional well-being of older persons and their families

Strategies

• Provide a centralized location for research and teaching, taking advantage of the Menorah Park campus and facilities
• Support research and teaching collaborations with in-house infrastructure such as grant writing, clinical supervision and coordination, and other services
• Collaborate with regional professional education institutions to develop specialization and certificate programs in various disciplines, ranging from medicine and its subspecialties to nursing; physical, occupational, and speech therapy; chaplaincy; facility-based long-term care; home care; hospice; and community-based social services
• Work towards establishing and maintaining a database for subject recruitment for research, including consumers of Menorah Park services and those of our affiliates, both in residence on the Menorah Park campus and in the greater community
• Sponsor educational forums for both professionals and the public
• Form consortia of similar long-term care facilities to enlarge power of studies and teaching programs while creating economies of scale, e.g., the I-81 Corridor Alliance of Jewish Homes
• Integrate the work of the institute with all Menorah Park programs and, as possible, those of its affiliates and those in the community