Winter 2016

An older man carefully walks a straight line marked on the carpet while students assess his gait. Down the hall, a woman rises from her wheelchair to demonstrate a new prosthesis. In a room nearby, students advise a woman on medication use.

Nearly 30 older adults from the community participated as volunteers in the URI Senior Health and Wellness Program in October. The annual event is organized by the Colleges of Health Sciences, Nursing and Pharmacy — which form the Academic Health Collaborative — as well as Johnson & Wales’ physician assistant program. About 120 graduate and undergraduate students break into teams to provide health screenings and recommendations for each volunteer.

Teams include students from physical therapy, nutrition, pharmacy, nursing and physician assistance.

“The Senior Wellness Day is a valuable opportunity for the pharmacy students to interact with the other disciplines and work as a team,” says program coordinator Clinical Associate Professor Erica Estus.

At an initial meeting in September, the teams assess each person’s health — diet, vital signs, sleep habits, medications, mobility, strength, balance. The teams then gather to review findings and write recommendations for each person. A month later, the volunteers return for reassessments and recommendations.

Plans are in the works to add social work majors and other disciplines.

“The Senior Wellness Day is a valuable opportunity for the pharmacy students to interact with the other disciplines and work as a team,” says program coordinator Clinical Associate Professor Erica Estus. “They learn how to communicate with one another to function effectively and to implement strategies to best communicate with their senior volunteer. The students are really excited to participate because they can apply what they learn in school outside of the classroom setting in a meaningful way.

“The best part is seeing the connection that is formed between the student teams and their senior volunteers after their time together,” she adds. “It’s a great event.” Read the full URI Today story online.

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