Philadelphia Senior Center
Title: Promoting Wellness and Community Engagement Among Older Adults
Student Interns:
Clarissa Class
University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine
Yanira Ellis-Peña
University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing
Academic Preceptor:
Dalmacio Dennis Flores, PhD, ACRN, FAAN
University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing
Brittany Watson, VMD, PhD, DACVPM, MS
University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine
Community Preceptor:
Julie Nelson
Center Manager, Philadelphia Senior Center
Community Site:
The Philadelphia Senior Center, operated by NewCourtland, is one of the oldest and largest senior centers in the country, providing services and programs that promote health, wellness, and community engagement for older adults. The center offers daily meals, fitness classes, educational workshops, social activities, and support services such as housing assistance and benefits counseling.
Team’s Experience:
The Bridging the Gaps student interns supported the Philadelphia Senior Center by creating interactive and educational health activities focused on nutrition, cardiovascular wellness, smoking cessation, and oral hygiene. They developed a Nutrition Bingo game to promote healthy eating habits in an engaging way and designed a wellness passport to encourage seniors to track heart health and smoking cessation goals. The interns also delivered an oral hygiene presentation, providing practical tips for maintaining dental health. These resources aimed to promote accessible and age-appropriate health education for the senior community.
Reflections
“Through our BTG internship experience, we learned the importance of flexibility and adaptability when working with community-based programs and addressing unexpected challenges. Engaging with seniors through health education, wellness activities, and AI training strengthened our public speaking skills and enhanced our ability to communicate effectively across diverse audiences. Those who had pets or knew someone who did were excited and appreciated our collaborative presentations connecting human and veterinary medicine, highlighting the interconnectedness of health through a One Health approach. We gained a deeper understanding of how our community prioritizes its health and learned how to meet people where they are when sharing information. These experiences fostered personal and professional growth by building patience, empathy, and confidence in our roles as future healthcare providers and reaffirmed our commitment to community-centered care, inspiring us to continue creating meaningful and accessible health interventions.”
Clarissa Class & Yanira Ellis-Peña