The Elder Rehab program at the Tucson Jewish Community Center is an exercise and cognitive stimulation program for memory-challenged senior adults.
The senior participants are paired one-to-one with UA interns and volunteers who provide twice weekly rehab sessions for a total of 20 sessions per semester. Each session consists of an hour of physical exercise and an hour of memory and language stimulation exercises and games.
Training will be provided. Hours are worked out between the student and the assigned partner. The JCC is located at 3800 E. River Rd. on the corner of Dodge Boulevard (about a 20-minute drive from campus).
An open-book quiz on Alzheimer’s and a final report culled from weekly records kept on participant responses to activities are required.
There are also two social events students are requested to attend. The 45 hours required for a one-credit internship or independent study course are easily met; most students log about 50 hours, including training time and social events.
An application form is attached. Applicants are accepted on a first come, first served basis, with preference for students who commit for two semesters. Male students and one Spanish-speaker are especially needed.
Applicants must have a car and either have current CPR credentials or be registered for a course before the start of the program the week of September 16. There is a training session on the exercise component on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. at the JCC and a “meet your partner” brunch following the training from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Training on the cognitive activities will be at a time to be arranged between students and the program coordinator, Dr. Sharon Arkin.
JCC Elder Rehab is entering its 10th semester and is based on a federally funded UA research project, which is described at www.u.arizona.edu/~sarkin/elderrehab.html. A brief video about the current program is on YouTube, titled JCC Elder Rehab.
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