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| Representatives from Owen Sound Gardens Retirement Residence visit Georgian College’s Owen Sound Campus to present a donation of $25,000 to support the college’s Frontline Support campaign. Pictured (left to right) are Dave Shorey, Executive Director, Georgian College Owen Sound Campus; Steve Lowe, Vice Chair Georgian College Board of Governors and Chair, Frontline Support campaign – Grey Bruce Advisory Group; Madison Lindsay, President, Georgian College Students’ Association – Owen Sound Campus and Practical Nursing student; Peter Van Dolder, CEO, Owen Sound Gardens Retirement Residence, and Anne Howatt, Executive Director, Owen Sound Gardens Retirement Residence. |
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Owen Sound Gardens Retirement Residence is helping to train a new generation of health-care talent locally.
As part of Owen Sound Gardens Retirement Residence’s grand opening in late September, a special fundraising drive was organized seeking to raise $25,000 for Georgian College’s Frontline Support: Health Care Heroes Closer to Home campaign, which is focused on supporting Central Ontario’s first four-year Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing degree program.
Welcoming the inaugural class in September 2022 at the college’s Owen Sound and Barrie campuses, the new program is designed to allow students to study closer to home and graduate with the advantage of more connections, hands-on practice and one-on-one training with small class sizes.
“More than a donation, this as an investment in our residents as well as our individual futures,” said Peter Van Dolder, Owen Sound Gardens Retirement Residence CEO. “Typically, when construction on projects like this wrap, gifts are shared, but we wanted to do more. We paused and asked ourselves how can we make this more meaningful? We quickly realized we wanted to drive this goodwill towards nurturing the next generation of health-care providers with the best tools available.”
The $25,000 donation will directly benefit student learning in the newly renovated and ultra modern Nursing and Wellness Wing at the Owen Sound Campus.
Specifically, the gift will help to outfit a learning pod within one of the new nursing labs in the wing, complete with all of the items normally seen in a patient’s hospital room. This includes a hospital bed, bedside table, over-the-bed table, and a fully functioning headwall (e.g.suction, oxygen, blood pressure, vital signs equipment, emergency call bell, and power outlets).
The learning pod is a space where students can build confidence, practice patient and family interactions and learn how to care for their community.
“At the end of the day, this is about community,” said Steven Lowe, Vice Chair, Georgian College Board of Governors and Chair of the campaign’s Grey Bruce Advisory Group. “This cutting-edge space wouldn’t be possible without the community coming forward and supporting our next generation of nurses and health care professionals for our region. The commitment and confidence the community has in Georgian’s vision for nursing education has inspired great things. We’ve built facilities that are second-to-none. We can be very proud of the state-of-the-art teaching labs. Thank you to Peter and all the donors who contributed to this latest gift to our Frontline Support campaign. I know our families, businesses and communities will be well served by the nurses, personal support workers and other health-care professional who train and learn at Georgian for many years to come.”
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source: media release, Georgian College
