October 1, 2012

At the end of the summer, the College entered into a partnership with Foulkeways at Gwynedd, a continuing care retirement community located in Gwynedd, Pennsylvania. 16 students from both the ACE and traditional four-year BSN programs offered assistance to Foulkeways residents while simultaneously completing gerontology training. Students studying gerontology examine the social, biological, and physiological aspects of human aging.

At the beginning of their experience at Foulkeways, each Drexel student was assigned to care for a single resident. As time progressed, additional residents were assigned in addition to the original patient placements. The students were responsible for ongoing assessments, wound care, medication distribution, and resident monitoring. However, the most challenging responsibility placed upon the students was to develop a Creative Resident Care Plan for each of their assigned residents. Some of their care plans included creative and innovative ideas like pet therapy, shared poetry, informal piano concerts, and lecture series. The College’s on-site program instructor, Maureen Hoban Kahn, spoke highly of the students’ accomplishments. “The created care plans have provided personalized attention focused on the whole individual, not just the frailer version of themselves residents are currently presenting,” she said.

“This experience has certainly broken any stereotypes I may have had about caring for an older population. This program is awesome,” said ACE student Jeremy Schwartz, who graduated last month and is now working at Hahnemann Hospital in the oncology unit. Many of the participating students feel that their experiences at Foulkeways have prepared them well for their future endeavors.