UNE students help senior residents at Park Danforth's first OT Wellness Fair
By all accounts, the first Occupational Therapy Wellness Fair at The Park Danforth was a rousing success for the 35 University of New England students who went across the street from UNE’s Portland Campus for the Health Sciences to share information with the community’s senior residents.
Mandy Yates, Park Danforth’s senior director of residence experience, called the banter, excitement, and animated conversations she witnessed “a really wonderful site to behold.”
Keagan Berry ’25 marveled at how many of her peers in the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program carefully listened to the residents’ stories and gently shared the benefits of occupational therapy in a relaxed conversation.
“I loved that experience of them being curious and being able to stand there and talk to them and hear their stories,” Berry said of the residents. “We weren’t telling them what to do. We were listening to them; trying to help.”
The OT Wellness Fair was just one portion of the lab course entitled “OT Interventions in Adulthood” that is co-taught by Occupational Therapy assistant clinical professors Elise Ostensson, M.S., OTR/L, CSRS, and Caroline Beals M.S., OTR/L. Planning and presenting the topics discussed at the fair was part of the course. Assistant Clinical Professor Erin McCall, M.S.O.T., OTD, OTR/L, also was involved in the Aug. 1 fair, which fell on one of the last days of the semester before the students went off to do their field work and clinical internship.
Nine pairs of students ran booths in the morning segment at Park Danforth, and another 10 pairs led stations in the afternoon. Residents were free to wander around different booths throughout the two programs. The students’ booths covered wellness topics such as fall prevention, how to avoid cyber scams, and how to safely return to exercise. Some booths hit on personal topics, including suggestions for dating after losing a spouse.
Learning how to have non-threatening conversations about the challenges seniors face later in life is a key tool in providing exemplary health care, Ostensson said.
“They are at the point that they are completely ready to engage with the community. It’s not all about teaching safety, but also about helping to increase the residents’ quality of life,” Ostensson added. “We conducted an assessment with the Park Danforth staff to ask them what the residents wanted to hear about to improve their wellness. The staff offered a few ideas about topics, including safe sex and intimacy.”
The stigma associated with talking about sexual relationships that existed decades ago can make it challenging for seniors today to talk about intimacy, Yates said. The students’ booth on safe sex, however, offered a fun, playful way to have those conversations, by turning it into a game of “Jeopardy!”
“It allowed the residents to not feel exposed, or targeted,” Yates said. “I overheard some of the conversations, and the students were very respectful in a really lovely way. I heard a lot of positive feedback from the residents.”
Berry’s station that she ran with Rebecca Corbett (M.S.O.T., ’25) focused on balance and fall prevention. The booth included easy everyday exercises to help improve balance, like standing on one foot.
Berry spoke with over 20 residents, but connected strongly with one, in particular. The woman, who recently started using a hybrid walker that doubles as a seat, called a rollator, shared with Berry how embarrassed she was to use the walker, and the stigma around it. Berry pivoted to another perspective, and explained how the rollator also could provide the freedom to travel, meet people, and make new friends.
“She came over and told us she was pretty nervous about falling again. We acknowledged it was so great that she felt the need to keep herself safe, and I think we made her feel less embarrassed about using it. This fair made me want to help people even more,” Berry said.
