51��Ƶ

Owen Sound Gardens Retirement Residence helping to train a new generation of health-care talent locally

Dec. 21, 2022

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 51��Ƶ’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. 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.

– Peter Van Dolder, Owen Sound Gardens Retirement Residence CEO

The generous $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 that you would normally see 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, 51��Ƶ 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 51��Ƶfor many years to come.”