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Elder
Watch Plus is a non-profit adult day service program in
Overbrook Park dedicated to providing care for frail-dependent
adults (some with medical weaknesses and Alzheimer’s
disease) with the dignity and respect they deserve. Elder
Watch Plus provides medical monitoring and nutritious
meals and snacks. They provide a club-like atmosphere
where the participants are safe and welcome and are able
to socialize with their peers and remain a part of the
community.
I will be interning under the executive director of Elder
Watch Plus, Judi Ahram, as a public relations/advertising
representative. I will be developing ads, writing newsletters
and press releases, and making brochures. I will be involved
in the Center's grant writing and fund-raising campaign
and develop a web site. I will also participate in designing
and implementing socio-therapeutic activities for the
elderly adult population. I believe that this internship
will offer me the optimal learning experience in health
communications. I will be able to analyze the communications
process within the Center and their appropriate counterparts,
as well as within the elderly adult population and their
families.
I am very excited to be working at this Center because
I will learn through my internship while developing relationships
with the elderly population. Since I am interning as a
communications student, I am especially glad to be able
to tie in my nursing background with the communications
field. Having experience working with a geriatric population
in class, I definitely have an advantage when it comes
to working with the participants at Elder Watch Plus.
I have met many interesting people, including a Penn alum
and a former Villanova Nursing School professor. It is
a refreshing change from the acute geriatric setting to
developing a longer term relationship with these adults.
The participants are a joy to talk to and to work with,
and I have many upcoming ideas for the Center (such as
introducing Pet Therapy and a pen pal letter exchange
with Penn students or other adult day care centers).
Mary
Nguyen,
BSN
student
University
of Pennsylvania
School of Nursing
Penn
Nursing Undergraduate Degree Programs
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