Ithaca College and Longview Senior Living Community celebrated the 25th anniversary of partnership through educational opportunities for both students of the college and residents of the community.
The partnership allows students from areas of study like occupational therapy, aging studies, physical therapy and speech, language pathology to go down the road to work with Longview residents. In turn, the residents of the senior living community can attend classes at the college. This semester, the classes Longview residents are taking include Brain Science, Sociology of Aging and The Other Europe-Modern, among others. The college’s campus is also open to the residents of Longview, including clubs and organizations as well as the Ithaca College Library and the Handwerker Gallery.
The college and Longview commemorated the anniversary with guests like Anna Kelles, New York state assembly member; Lea Webb, New York state senator; and Ithaca College President La Jerne Cornish, who lauded the partnership for its unique educational opportunities offered to both students and residents of the community. Kelles recognized the partnership’s programs on behalf of the New York State Assembly.
“I wanted to just say one final thank you because you have created a place where families can come and reconnect the generations,” Kelles said. “We need to slow down and we need to take that time and this is what is beautiful in the world.”
Kelles said senior communities across New York state are not funded enough. Governor Kathy Hochul’s 2024–25 state budget will include $15 million for assisted living programs, but will be cutting $2.5 million from the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, which gives financial aid to advocates for people in long-term care facilities.
“We do not fund long-term care even remotely to the amount that we need to,” Kelles said. “And yet, the experience for people here is this beautiful space. The most important thing in the world is that you don’t experience [difficulties].”
Cornish said the partnership is important because of the opportunities open to both students of the college and residents of Longview.
“It means more to our students than you will ever know, but it also means more to us to know that we have friends in the community who are helping our students through experiential learning,” Cornish said. “We need to create the community of care that will support the world in the years to come.”
Elizabeth Bergman, associate professor in the Department of Health Sciences and Public Health, said the interactions among students and Longview residents have felt like they have gone back to normal since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, Bergman said the college and Longview followed state health guidelines, which limited the amount of in-person interactions that the partnership fosters.
“Our next immediate priority is going to be engaging in some campus-wide education about the partnership, reconnecting with students and faculty and administrators at all levels,” Bergman said.
She said in recent years, she has noticed a decrease in students enrolling at the college with an interest in aging studies. In 2021, the aging studies major was phased out through the Academic Program Prioritization, but the minor still remains. Bergman said students studying in fields like occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language pathology all need to have experience with older people and frequently get that experience from Longview.
Bergman said the partnership benefits from being in-person because not only do students go to Longview, but residents of the senior living community frequently take classes at the college and participate in clubs and organizations on campus.
Bergman said that as the public health concern of the pandemic has decreased, the college’s Gerontology Institute is planning to reintegrate more information around campus about the aspects of the partnership that are open to students.
“We’re still carefully following public health guidance, but we’re now at a point where we really need to re-educate folks about what the partnership is and reinvigorate some of the programs,” Bergman said.
Bergman said that during the pandemic, students were not allowed inside the retirement community and programs between Longview and the college were limited. During Fall 2021, the partnership went back to being in-person. Older adults are more susceptible to illnesses like COVID-19 because they are more likely to have pre-existing conditions that lower their immunity than other demographics, according to the National Council on Aging.
Bergman said some once-popular programs like the Intergenerational Choir — a choral group established in 1993 that joined singers from Longview and the college together — has not been in operation since the start of the pandemic.
“The challenge or the limitation … is that students who find a passion for working with older adults through the partnership are more limited in terms of what courses they can find on campus now,” Bergman said.
Senior Lily Stevens tabled for the Department of Physical Therapy at the celebration. Stevens said that when she initially enrolled at the college, she had a minor in nutrition, but since working with residents of Longview, she changed her minor to aging studies.
“Intergenerational relationships are really important,” Stevens said. “Since we are one of the two main colleges [in Ithaca], it’s really important to get involved in the community, and this is a great way to do that. If you are in any health care profession, you will probably work with older people, and it’s so important to be comfortable around people of all ages.”
