Algonquin is once again showcasing its role as a valued community partner with the launch of a day program for seniors with dementia right here on campus.
The program will benefit the community as well as provide unique learning opportunities for Algonquin’s students that they wouldn’t get elsewhere.
Algonquin has partnered with the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre to make this program possible. The college has built a “smart apartment,” a fully functional facility located on the second floor of A-building that allows day program clients to visit the college.
It also allows students to receive practical, hands-on education without having to go off-campus.
Cheryl Jensen, president of the college, says Algonquin is a pioneer for this type of program.
“I don’t know of any other partnerships like this,” she said in an interview with the Times. “We’ve taken 30 seniors off the wait lists for day programs, so there’s obviously a huge need as the population is aging. We’re filling a need for the community.”
Jensen is also proud of the role this program creates for Algonquin as a community partner, something the college has been working hard to establish.
“We’re an innovative college,” she said. “It opens doors for students to be set apart from other colleges when they graduate because we’re now being recognized as such a huge community partner.”
That’s not the only way Algonquin’s students will be set apart with this program, according to Marlene Tosh, acting chair in nursing studies and co-founder of the program.
“I’m not sure there’s another college in Ontario – definitely not in Ottawa – that provides this kind of program on-site,” she said. “Students here aren’t following a checklist of what to do. They have to think and be creative.”
Students are given the opportunity to work with clients in a real-life setting. The facility, which has a fully functional kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and even a closed-off “de-briefing” area for students to learn, lets them do all the things they would do for clients at an off-campus facility. It’s also being used for applied research with various community partners, including Carleton University.
The smart apartment is currently being used primarily by students studying personal support work and physiotherapy, but Tosh hopes that as the program becomes more developed the facility will be open to students from more programs.
The Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre uses the facility for the day program on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays until 5 p.m. Any other time, the smart apartment is open for use by other programs.
Algonquin’s nursing, mental health and community studies students also use the space, according to Tosh.
“It’s college space,” Tosh said. “As much as the timetabling will accommodate, we’d love for as many programs as possible to be able to use the space.”
Tosh also said the smart apartment’s convenient location above the massage therapy clinic gives day program clients the opportunity to use the college’s various facilities, such as getting a massage, having their hair cut or their nails done.
“This is a day away from home where they can be with their peers and do the things they enjoy doing,” said Tosh. “Getting the approvals we needed and actually building and creating the space was a process, but so far things have been great.”
The program launched in January, but there will be an official grand opening ceremony when the program has a chance to develop further and work out any kinks. Tosh hopes to hold the ceremony in April.