CHP honors partnership with Baltimore County Department of Aging with award
Each year, faculty and approximately 150 students participate in at least one outreach activity or annual event with the BCDA, compiling more than 4,000 hours of service learning
By Megan Bradshaw on June 27, 2019
The Towson University College of Health Professions (CHP) welcomed members of the Baltimore County Department of Aging (BCDA) to campus in late May to celebrate over 10 years of collaboration with an award ceremony.
In 2006 the Department of Kinesiology initiated a clinical partnership when faculty member Ray Stinar (now retired) worked with the BCDA senior centers to introduce fitness facilities as an extension of the CHP Wellness Center. Ongoing clinical affiliations between the BCDA and the Departments of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, Nursing, and Health Sciences grew from that initial partnership.
“We greatly appreciate the BCDA’s commitment to the education of future health professionals, encouraging them to work in their fields with older adults,” said CHP Dean Lisa Plowfield at the event. “BCDA has mentored countless CHP students, providing internships and other opportunities, even hiring some of our graduates. We are looking forward to partnering for years to come.”
The BCDA has 20 senior centers throughout the county and sponsors two major health events—the Senior Expo and the Get Ready, Get Fit 5K Run—as well as smaller outreach activities held throughout the year. All Marylanders are welcome to attend.
Towson University students are active participants in both major events. Each year, faculty and approximately 150 students participate in at least one outreach activity or annual event with the BCDA, compiling more than 4,000 hours of service learning.
At the 5K run, nursing and OT students provide nutrition, brain health and fall risk prevention education to participants. In addition, nursing students conduct blood pressure screenings—collaborating with family practice physicians—and, in fall 2018, they worked with EMS to provide treatment to two older adults who fell while participating in the One-Mile Walk.
Students—in cooperation with faculty members Karen Cooper, Sue Walsh, Hyunjeong Park and Vicky Kent—develop educational outreach activities that correspond with each year’s Senior Expo themes.
Each semester, TU’s Department of Health Sciences places students in BCDA internships, particularly the gerontology and community health education programs.
Mary Carter, associate professor and gerontology program director, says internships and other opportunities for applied, experiential learning are pivotal to preparing students for successfully navigating the fast-changing heath and service industries and networks.
“Applied learning experiences are an opportunity to identify strengths and skills as well as areas for continued growth and development,” she adds. “Most important, they enable students to identify industry leaders and potential mentors in their professional fields and to learn firsthand how to model professionalism in their chosen fields. Given the number of first-generation college students attending TU, this experience is often critical in students identifying next steps in career preparedness.”
Marlene Riley, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, illustrates another benefit service learning offers TU students.
“CHP students engage with healthy older adults, providing them with skills and information to maintain their health as the age,” she says. “When students learn more about resources for sustaining the engagement of older adults, they transfer this knowledge to acute care settings, improving discharge planning, providing clients with significant resources and ensuring discharge to appropriate settings within their communities.”
The BCDA will return to campus in August as the college will co-launch an Age-Friendly Initiative.
This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland.