March 21, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
A group of DCHS students came to NHC Health Care Center Thursday bearing gifts during a luncheon to celebrate the culmination of an intergenerational (iGen classroom) partnership between the students and the assisted living residents at NHC of Smithville.
The gifts, which are actually assistive prototype devices, were created by the students themselves in the DeKalb County High School Makerspace and presented to five of the residents selected for the program to help meet their daily needs. The students met with residents several times in recent weeks to learn their needs and then went to work on designing, creating, and perfecting devices to fit the prototypes through the STEM and Career and Technical Education programs.
*NHC resident Michael Young received a hand splint made by DCHS students Bailey Hibdon, Ben Felton, Jackub Osment and Channon Stone
*NHC resident , 93 year old Lloyd Tisdale received a workout machine to help stay in shape made by DCHS students Hunter Fann, Logan Cornelious, Noah Gill, Zach Day, and Nathan Atkins
(VIDEO below shows DCHS student Bailey Hibdon assisting NHC resident Michael Young slip on his new hand splint made by Hibdon and fellow students Ben Felton, Jackub Osment and Channon Stone)
*NHC resident Beverly Cripps received a charging station to keep near her bed for maintaining power to her phone and other electronics made by DCHS students Haley Chapman, Garrett Driver, and Noah Johnson
*NHC resident Bobbie Ervin received an adjustable pickup tool made by DCHS students Julianna Juarez and Alberto Lucio
IMG_4988 from dwayne page on Vimeo.
*NHC resident Beth Pittman received an ipad stand with the initial “B” on it made by DCHS students Elvia Rivera, Carrie Mooneyham, Elizabeth Orellana, Justin Gohs, and Conner Rice
According to Dr. Kathy Bryant, Supervisor of Instruction, the idea for the iGen class came up last fall during a business partner luncheon at DCHS.
“Last fall we had a business partner luncheon at DCHS and invited several businesses from the area. We had that luncheon to forge some relationships and partnerships. One of the things we proposed to Mr. Clint Hall, Administrator of NHC, was that we start an iGen classroom where our students would come and work with the residents. Ms Amy Fricks, math teacher at DCHS, then developed some ideas with her class for the project,” said Dr. Bryant.
“Our kids came for our first visit to NHC where they had met with some of the residents that Clint had picked out who wanted to be part of the project and each group (students) picked who (residents) they wanted to work with and during that time identified some needs those people had. We went back to the school and started working on some designs and brought back some prototypes to test out with the residents and get their feedback. Today we brought back our final product to be able to leave in their hands for them to use,” said Fricks.
“The kids came up with all kinds of really diverse things. One of them was a charging station for a resident (Beverly Cripps) who needed to be able to charge her phone and tablet near her bed so she didn’t need help to get up and go across the room to do that so that was something which was really practical but it meets a need and was really special for her. Another group (students) really formed a bond with one of the residents here (93 year old Lloyd Tisdale). He (Tisdale) really likes staying in shape and working out so they developed a workout machine for him. We also had a group who made an ipad stand for a resident (Beth Pittman) who likes to read on her ipad. Another resident (Michael Young) needed something to stabilize his hand because he has problems with it wanting to contract so they made a hand splint for him that we 3D printed and then they sewed a nice cover over it to help support his hand. Another group made an adjustable pickup tool (for Bobbie Ervin) that was really neat which adjusts the angles so the resident (Ervin) can pick things up easily from her wheelchair,” said Fricks
Hall said he is excited about this partnership between DCHS and NHC and wants it to continue.
“The reason NHC and The Foundation for Geriatric Education decided to fund this project is that it gives the assisted living residents the opportunity to interact with the young students,” said Hall.
“Whenever they approached us about this it was really a win-win situation for everybody involved. The students had something they wanted to work on and perfect and our residents and patients were the beneficiaries of that so the interaction they were able to have throughout this process was priceless and it is something we look forward to continuing in the months and years ahead,” said Hall.
Director of Schools Patrick Cripps and DCHS Principal Randy Jennings also attended Thursday’s luncheon.