“I feel complete,” says Denise Bedard. “It’s here – it’s not a dream anymore.”

Bedard, along with Kim Hennin, friend and long-time MPP and mayoral assistant, recently met with Dr. Allen Salmoni, head of kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario. After hearing a presentation on Bedard’s “Legacy Teaching Culture” initiative – which aims to redesign care provision in long term care to one more community-oriented, person-centred, and celebratory – Salmoni has committed his department and all research capabilities to Bedard’s initiative.

“It was like he was waiting to find us,” she says.

Dr. Salmoni, who is currently doing research on healthy aging, will act as the university liaison for the project, and any funding applications for the project will be assisted by the university. The project will be able to access all departments related to health care, says Bedard.

“All the elements in LTC will be changing soon so this is very important,” says Bedard. “It’s estimated that by 2011 those age 65 and over will represent 15% of the Canadian population.”

Bedard and Hennin also recently discussed the “LTC” initiative with Tim Burns, a representative of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, who has pledged a mentoring partner to help guide the research.

Hennin, a long time friend of Bedard’s, has a personal interest in the project, which was initially discussed casually between the two over late evening drinks last summer.

Since the idea was informally hatched that day, Meadow Park has established three working focus groups – staff, residents, and families – and authored and completed two surveys to gain feedback and support on ways to implement the initiative. The home officially unveiled the initiative - with the support of MPP Khalil Ramal – at last year’s Fall Fair.

Bedard has designed the initiative in three phases – Enchantment, Enlightenment, and Enrichment – and once it is established as a teaching model hopes to feature it as a certification program.

The model will address major issues in long term care, such as conflict management, dementia and aging, aggressive behaviour and staff-resident relations.

After taking members of the family focus group out to dinner last week, Bedard realized that Meadow Park is already being transformed by the involvement and input of all who work and live there.

“I got more of a family sense from the residents,” says Bedard. “They were so excited.”