A NEW research facility opened at Frankston Hospital will collect data and information on aging.

The Ngarnga Center – Ideas, Innovation and Learning was officially opened. The research facility houses a component of the National Center for Healthy Aging, the Healthy Aging Data Platform.

The new center is a joint venture with Monash University. The project was funded in part by a $2 million contribution from the federal government.

Peninsula Health CEO Felicity Topp said the project would allow the organization to focus on “improving health outcomes by enabling translational research both at Peninsula Health and Monash University and through through the National Center for Healthy Aging”.

“This is a pivotal moment in the development of Peninsula Health, our partnership with Monash University and the continued progress of Frankston Health Center,” Ms. Topp said. “By creating a state-of-the-art environment for our clinicians, researchers and students, we greatly expand our research profile.

The Dean of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University, Professor Christina Mitchell, said “substantial progress” has been made on the Healthy Aging Data Platform since 2020 “Researchers at the National Center for Healthy Aging now have access to big data to provide population-level insight into pressing questions about healthy aging for our communities. It connects various large health data sources to help the NCHA develop solutions to these problems,” she said.

Peninsula Health estimates that older Australians will make up 22% of Australia’s population by 2057.

For more information visit www.ncha.org.au

First published in the Frankston Times – March 8, 2022