The 娱乐al Therapy Program at 最靠谱的网赌软件 (ODU) goes beyond textbooks and classrooms, 通过老年人健康计划产生切实的影响. 由雪莉·比弗带队, 该项目的高级讲师, 这项倡议将学生和老年居民聚集在一起, 为共享体验创造一个独特的空间, 增长, 和连接.

Shelly Beaver's journey with the Senior 健康 Program began at Penn State, where she initiated a similar program that continues to thrive. 加入ODU后, Shelly把这个项目带到迈蒙尼德健康中心(MHC), 以前是贝斯肖洛姆村, 在弗吉尼亚海滩, 利用校友关系. 初中生和高中生起着关键作用, constructing and executing the program during the Fall semester.

适应COVID-19大流行的挑战, 这个节目采用了虚拟的形式, focusing on cognitive and social activities to maintain connections. 随着面对面活动的恢复, 该项目在港边找到了一个新家, 诺福克的一个老年人生活社区. This move not only doubled its reach to 12 visits per semester but also opened doors for students to explore the diverse facets of recreational therapy.

Fraingeli Castro-Gonzalez, currently serving as the activities coordinator on the memory support unit at Harbor’s Edge, began her career early as Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) at the age of 16. She started her collegiate career with an interest in a nursing program; however, her desire for a less clinical approach led her to recreational therapy. She took Professor Beaver’s class at Harbor’s Edge in the fall of 2021, 后来得到了一份实习工作. 2022年12月从ODU毕业, Fraingeli began working full time at Harbor’s Edge during the last two weeks of her internship.

作为ODU的校友, Fraingeli finds it fascinating to now lead the program after having been a student in the same class. Witnessing students utilize feedback and improve throughout the semester brings her immense pride. While watching a few of the residents sing along to music during an activity led by students, 弗莱格里笑着说,  “回忆对这个项目的居民来说很重要. 当他们回忆起过去的事情时，那是很美好的. 音乐很有帮助."

确保无缝体验, 学生们为当天的活动做准备, often having a backup plan in case the session needs adjustment based on residents' energy levels. The students work one on one with a resident who is assigned to them at the beginning of the class. 

Jalik Godbold was able to quickly build a relationship with his resident. "Building rapport with my resident was easy because she was a high energy people person. She was a flight attendant for 19 years and she had excellent people skills. I also believe I have excellent people skills so once we had started talking, 我们就像老朋友一样叙叙旧." While some of the students go into this class knowing they want to work with the elderly population, many of them go into it thinking they want to work with children or another population, then they end up changing their minds because they love the class so much. However, while Jalik has enjoyed the class, he has decided he wants to go into behavioral health. "Being active duty military and seeing all the mental health issues that people face today has inspired me to help because I have been there."

Half the class facilitates activities on the memory support unit, while the other half of the class lead activities on the assisted living unit. During “chair exercise bingo,” Kayln Stokes pulled a card for an exercise called “shoulder flex.正如她所展示的, 她说:“这有点像我们在做波浪,” eliciting laughter and enthusiasm from the residents and other students.  Kalyn's passion for working with older adults reminds her of spending time with her grandparents. “这是令人欣慰的.” She also loves recreational therapy because of the options in the field. "It's a flexible career field that allows you to move around to different areas."

克里斯汀·巴茨, 和凯伦一起做这个活动的学生, 同意并补充, "娱乐al Therapy is an underrepresented major that has a big, 对人的直接影响."

Kris confessed that she initially entered the program with an interest in working with children, 但她在这门课上的经历转移了她的注意力, 激发了与老年人一起工作的热情. Kris's encounter with a retired professor among the residents opened her eyes to the wealth of knowledge she could gain in nursing homes.

谢尔比克罗克特, 奥德赛大学2018届毕业生, previously worked with both elderly individuals and children on the autism spectrum. She initially pursued an interdisciplinary major with a focus on special education; however, 老年人健康计划改变了她的想法, 导致她转到娱乐治疗专业. 在2017年秋季完成课程后, Shelby undertook her internship at Beth Sholom and was subsequently hired full-time at MHC where she currently serves as the lead recreational therapist. When describing her job, she dispels misconceptions, “Yeah, we do get to have fun all day! 但这很有趣，背后还有治疗的好处.” Shelby wishes more people knew about the positive impact of recreational therapy, noting that many individuals stumble into the field but end up loving it.

The Senior 健康 Program is not just a class; it's a dynamic and evolving initiative that adapts to the changing landscape in the field of recreational therapy. Whether it's fostering connections between students and seniors or opening doors to diverse career paths within recreational therapy, 这个项目是创新和同情的典范.