KINGSTON, R.I. — Nov. 4, 2024 — Students from the Colleges of Health Sciences and Pharmacy got some hands-on training while older adults from the community gained valuable health information during the Senior Health, Wellness, and Fall Risk program in Independence Square recently.

Under the supervision of faculty members from both colleges, nearly 200 students from the departments of Communicative Disorders, Physical Therapy, Nutrition, and Human Development and Family Sciences, along with the College of Pharmacy, worked on five-person teams to attend to 33 senior volunteers. The students conducted hearing, cognitive and mental health screenings; tested volunteers’ mobility and balance; assessed their nutrition levels and dietary restrictions; and reviewed their medications, answering any questions they may have about their prescriptions.  

“The students worked together on the “four Ms” of patient care—what Matters, Mobility, Mentation and Medications,” said Clinical Associate Professor Rachel Smith, who directs URI’s audiology clinic and was among the organizing professors. “So all the student team members are working together to assess those four facets of patient care, beginning with a virtual screening to understand what their volunteers’ goals are. Maybe it is to be able to go to the park with their grandchildren. So we look at that and figure out what physically they need to do to be able to do that. What are ways to meet that goal? The interdisciplinary teams are now meeting face-to-face with their volunteer, performing more physical screenings to help them get where they want to be.”

Jet Vertz, a volunteer from Wakefield, has been attending the senior health program for three years, monitoring his health progress year to year. This year, his wife, Joyce Vertz, came along for the second time, seeking advice especially for issues that sometimes limit her mobility. He said the program is an opportunity not only for older adults in the community to learn about and monitor their health, but also for students to learn how to treat patients over time.

“They should go even beyond this; use it as an opportunity to study the progression of people, see how they age gracefully, or not,” Jet Vertz said. “I always tell people to try to live within five miles of a university so you can participate in things like this.”

Speech pathology student Meghan Dolan was among the students who assessed Jet and Joyce Vertz, helping give them a comprehensive look at their physical and mental health. While she and audiology student Lauren O’Connell conducted speech and hearing tests, physical therapy students worked on their balance, human development and family sciences student Mary McCourt assessed the couple’s social connections and mental health, and pharmacy student Emi Merritt examined the medications they take and how potential side effects could impact the life goals both hope to achieve.

“We did a really comprehensive assessment with a more holistic approach,” Dolan said. “It’s giving me some real-world experience that I haven’t had a lot of. We’re learning how to be professionals, and how to work with other disciplines to really figure out what options are best for them.”

The Physical Therapy Department has been hosting the event for nearly 20 years, with the original intent to focus primarily on balance and exercise. It has since been expanded to include multiple health disciplines, allowing students to practice their screening skills, and giving older adults a more complete look at their overall health.