$1.1M donation to draw nursing students to seniors care - Yahoo! Canada News

CALGARY (CBC) - The biggest donation ever given to the University of Calgary's nursing faculty will go to expanding hands-on lessons for students and encouraging them to specialize in caring for seniors.

The Brenda Strafford Foundation is giving the department $1.1 million over five years to create a centre of excellence in gerontological nursing, the school announced Wednesday.


The foundation, created by Barrie Strafford and named after his wife who died in an accident in 1974, runs a network of long-term care facilities in Calgary.


The gerontological program will allow nursing students and teachers access to residents in the long-term care homes run by the group, create more student placements and link care staff with an academic setting.


"We're faced with an aging population and a critical shortage of nurses in this field," said Sandra Hirst, associate nursing professor and director of the new centre, in a news release.


"The intent is to improve best practices and get more students interested and excited about gerontological nursing."


Loralee Fox, who is in her second year of a nursing master's degree and is specializing in seniors care, said she's excited about what the new partnership will give students and patients.


"To a lot of nursing students, the appeal is the perceived excitement of the emergency room or intensive care unit," she said.


"Caring for the older adult is not always a nursing student's first choice, but this program is going to open up job opportunities in a demanding field, and with this kind of hands-on-learning, will show students the impact they can have on a very important group in need."


The Strafford Foundation also runs assisted living units and a temporary residence for women escaping domestic violence in Calgary, as well as health clinics in Haiti and Dominica.