In 1980 the Mount Pleasant Royal Canadian Legion Branch #177 gave over $700,000 over five years to support an academic position in family practice in community geriatrics. Over the years this has grown to $1,000,000. This endowment created the Division of Community Geriatrics within the Department of Family Practice at UBC. The first director was Dr. Clyde Slade (1980-84) followed by Dr. Richard Ham (1984-87) and Dr. Martha Donnelly (1987 to the present).

The Royal Canadian Legion Pacific Command in 1997 gave two years of funding for research support to the Division of Community Geriatrics.

Since 2002 the Division has also received Special Populations funding from the Special Populations Fund, Strategic Teaching Initiative of the BC Ministry of Health to support a more interdisciplinary approach to community geriatrics education and research. This has been in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, College of Health Disciplines, School of Nursing, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, School of Audiology and Speech Sciences and the School of Dentistry.

The Objectives of the Division of Community Geriatrics are:

1. To educate medical students and family practice residents about community geriatrics health care.
2. To maintain an RIII Enhanced Skills 6 month program accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
3. To educate family physicians to do sub-specialty work along with their regular family practice work. To be an active participant in the Canadian College of Family Physicians’ Health Care of the Elderly Committee. This consists of all the directors of the Health Care of the Elderly across the country.
4. To support interdisciplinary education in geriatrics.
5. To encourage research in community geriatrics.
6. To advocate for excellence in health care provision for seniors in the community.