Occupational therapy students help seniors stay independent, safe

Cathy Floyd’s face lit up as she hit the send button. She’d successfully sent her first photo on her smart phone.

“I got goosebumps,” said Floyd, after University of Cincinnati occupational therapy student Anne Reed helped her navigate this bit of technology. “I’ve tried before, but they never seemed to go through. Now I can send photos to my friends in Canada and Colorado!”

Floyd, of Colerain Township, was one of roughly 35 seniors to attend the Successful Aging in the Geriatric Experience (SAGE) event held July 20 at the Green Township Senior Center.

Organized by the UC Master of Occupational Therapy Program, the free event included various stations, where senior participants were evaluated and educated on topics that could help them live more safe and comfortable lives.

It was the third event of its kind and the first held in Green Township. Forest Park Senior Center hosted the event in 2021 and 2022.

“We want all seniors to be able to continue leading active, vibrant lives,” said Karen Craven, an assistant professor educator in the College of Allied Health Sciences, who developed the event for her OT students to get hands-on experience before entering their level two field work. “I thought it would be good for the students to be with real people and think on their feet, using the skills they’ve learned so far in their academic studies.”

The event was a big hit with her seniors, said Catherine Salamone, director of the Green Township Senior Center.

“All the students were very friendly and really patient,” Salamone said. “The seniors really enjoyed it.”

The SAGE program is organized and led by second-year students in UC’s Master of Occupational Therapy program, which prepares its graduates for careers providing preventative and rehabilitation services to people of all ages, in areas related to successful and satisfying physical, sensory, psychological, social, cognitive, and behavioral performance.

OT jobs are expected to grow by 14% in the next decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the number of job opportunities will be particularly higher in hospital, skilled nursing and community settings as the number of elderly needing occupational therapy is expected to rise with an increase of the elderly population.

OT students worked individually and in pairs with senior participants, traveling station to station with them from start to finish. This allowed the students to establish rapport and get a better understanding of the seniors’ needs and interests. 

“Staying with the senior creates a bond and helps them get to know them better,” Craven said. “We want the students to ask good, open-ended questions, so that the seniors could think about potentially unsafe things in their homes or other simple things they could be doing differently.”

In the spring, a portion of the students’ Gerontology course went over the health assessments students would perform at SAGE, such as low vision and fall risk screenings.  The SAGE event reinforced the clinical skills they learned, Craven said.

The students were being evaluated during the event, as well. OT program graduate Amanda Holland took notes as the students led their seniors through a variety of activities at the fall risk station, such as getting up and sitting back down in a chair 10 times without using their hands. 

“I am making sure they are doing everything safely, and showing them where they could improve,” said Holland, who now works full time as an occupational therapist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. “I like to help where I can, to give back to the program.”

The event gives students the experience with planning community health events, developing and gathering helpful resources for seniors, and confidence to work through an evaluation process with a client prior to starting Level II Fieldwork (clinicals) in the fall. 

OT students Sadie Garner and Syndi Schramm chatted after seeing one of their seniors, John, out the door. During his home safety assessment, they had discussed adding slip mats in the shower and installing railings in bathrooms and other places in the house. The young women learned that John had grown accustomed to crawling up and down the stairs to access the second floor.

“That was sort of a surprise,” said Garner, who called experiences like these invaluable. “But this is how he has acclimated. We talked to him about keeping his cell phone on him in case of an emergency.”

One of the other stations that is always popular with the seniors, is CarFit.

Participants are invited to drive up in their personal vehicle and go through the 12-step educational program created by the American Society on Aging and developed in collaboration with AAA, AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association. The CarFit checklist goes over safety features and provides education that supports the driver’s comfort and safety in the vehicle.

“We’re not asking, ‘Are you a good driver?’” Craven said. Instead, they’re checking things like whether there is enough space between the driver’s chest and the steering wheel for airbags to deploy correctly and adequate lines of sight.  

“The seniors said, ‘I feel much safer. They adjusted my mirrors, my seatbelt—I didn’t know or think to do that,’” Salamone said.

Throughout the event, the seniors were informed about all sorts of adaptive solutions and devices, as well as tweaks they could make to live safer and more fulfilling lives. Each left with a goody bag full of donated items, like a water bottle and healthcare and hygiene items, pamphlets for various resources and cheat sheets to better use their phones, iPads and computers.

At the end of the event, each senior was presented with a report with their assessment evaluations and recommended next steps.

Salamone said word spread about the event and many of the senior members who didn’t go this year are hopeful UC will bring the event back again. 

“It was a win-win for the seniors,” Salamone said, “They were able to teach the students a lot, but also be taught by the students quite a bit.”

Craven hopes to expand the event to multiple locations, a couple times a year. “We would love—and I see a great opportunity—to bring in other disciplines,” she said.

Before leaving, Cathy Floyd thanked UC student Anne Reed profusely for helping her learn to send photos and all the other things she gleaned at SAGE. 

“You didn’t talk down to me or make me feel bad even when I was completely out of my comfort zone,” Floyd said. “I don’t want to be a dinosaur! I’m so grateful.”

Featured image at top students Sydney Leary and Danielle Downs work with patient on a fall risk assessment. Photos/Joe Fuqua II