Research Institute for Healthy Ageing

”Caring for our ageing population is one of the major challenges facing our nation this century - and as a Government - we take that responsibility very seriously. This is about planning for Australia’s future and the challenges of the 21st century.”
Hon Justine Elliot, Minister for Ageing

The Foundation is currently lobbying the Federal Government for infrastructure funding totalling $57million.

This funding will be used to build The St George & Sutherland Research Institute of Healthy Ageing (RIHA) in Kogarah Town Centre.

In summary the case for the establishment of a research institute is compelling:

The medical community at St George Hospital has established a significant track record of research ($10m+ of Tier 1 research grants) in ageing related diseases - an area of increasing national importance and growing demographic need.
There are currently significant pockets of research scattered throughout the hospital – a situation that leads to inefficiency and poor staff morale.
The South East Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service, The University of New South Wales & Kogarah Council support the establishment of a physical research institute at St George. A parcel of land in excess of 1500sq/m has been committed to the project.
The formation of the St George Medical Research Foundation in 2007 is a significant step towards the establishment of a Research institute and provides an existing governance framework for the new Institute.
An experienced project team is already in place to manage the research institute development process and funding has been committed for the planning phase of the project.

The St George & Sutherland Research Institute for Healthy Ageing will focus on diseases that affect the ageing population.

Some things that you might not know about Australia and Ageing

Australia is experiencing a new demographic phenomenon with citizens now enjoying the fourth longest life expectancy in the world - after the Japanese, Swiss and Icelanders.

Currently, there are 2.7 million Australians aged 65 and over.

Within 40 years the number of people aged over 65 will almost triple, from 2.8 million today to around 7.2 million in 2047, or from around 13 per cent of the population today to over 25 per cent.

There has also been a major shift in the number of people living to be more than 100. Currently, there are 2,860 Australians over the age of 100 and that is expected to increase to 78,000 by 2055.

The RIHA

The new Research Institute is currently in the planning phase. It will likely consist of 5 or 6 floors of modern research facilities and will be based on the current hospital campus in the heart of Kogarah – an area of Sydney that has missed out on past investment in research infrastructure. There are also plans to incorporate a state of the art surgical skills simulation centre within the Research Institute building. This Skills Centre will focus on surgical training and cutting skills.

For more information on the plans for the Research Institute please look out for updates on this site, or alternatively Email Dave, Chief Executive, St George Medical Research Foundation