Philadelphia Senior Center
Title: Promoting Healthy Aging Through Education and Engagement at the Philadelphia Senior Center
Student Interns:
Ananya Kambhampati
University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing
Sophie Zhu
University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Policy & Practice
Academic Preceptor:
Dalmacio Dennis Flores, PhD, ACRN, FAAN
University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing
Johanna K.P. Greeson, PhD, MSS, MLSP
University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Policy & Practice
Community Preceptor:
Julie Nelson
Center Manager
Philadelphia Senior Center
Community Site:
The mission of the Philadelphia Senior Center is to advance the well-being and personal growth of adults aged 55 and older across Philadelphia by providing a safe, welcoming, positive environment where older adults can connect with services, discover new interests, and stay actively engaged in their communities.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps student interns helped promote senior health literacy by facilitating interactive presentations on topics such as oral health, cardiovascular health, and mental health. In addition to presenting to large groups of seniors, they engaged with the seniors individually to answer questions about their health. They also helped combat food insecurity in the community by distributing more than 250 farmers’ market vouchers to low-income seniors, assisting more than 300 people with their voucher applications, and conducting nutritional risk assessment calls to identify underserved seniors. Additionally, the interns created multiple resource pamphlets, distributed oral hygiene kits, and introduced more than 50 seniors to origami as a mindfulness activity.
Reflections
During my time here at PSC, I gained a deeper understanding of community health and learned that promoting health goes beyond just treatment. The seniors were interested in sharing their stories and experiences, which allowed me to know them on a more personal level. And by creating health education materials for them, this created stronger connections as they showed engagement. I was able to see clearly how different barriers such as transportation, low income, and weather severely affected a person’s health and ability to receive care. During clinical rotations, I only interact with patients for the day, whereas at PSC, I saw them every day and saw firsthand how these barriers affected them. This experience has strengthened my confidence, reinforced the importance of education and prevention, and helped me grow both personally and professionally as I prepare for my future in nursing.
Ananya Kambhampati
It has been a joy to work with the seniors and staff at PSC. From distributing farmers market vouchers, to asking seniors trivia questions about different health topics, to teaching seniors how to fold origami flowers, I was able to build meaningful connections that have helped me understand the strengths and needs of this community. These experiences are invaluable to my career as a social worker. I am excited to apply all the knowledge and skills I have learned into my future work, as well as continue to learn from and be inspired by the communities I serve.
Sophie Zhu
Partners
