Pioneer Ridge, Oshki-Pimache-O-Win partner for long-term healthcare training
Pioneer Ridge Long-Term Care and Senior Services has officially opened a new “Living Classroom” in partnership with Oshki-Pimache-O-Win: The Wenjack Education Institute, creating a hands-on training environment for future healthcare professionals.
The Living Classroom model provides hands-on education in a long-term care setting, allowing personal support worker and practical nursing students to gain real-world experience while learning from experienced staff at Pioneer Ridge.
“Having the students on-site here at Pioneer Ridge is vital to their experience,” said Erica Blekkenhorst, practical nursing program coordinator at Oshki-Wenjack. “When they learn something in the classroom, they get to go out into the care environment and apply it with real residents and real healthcare workers.”
Officials say the program will help address growing workforce demands in the healthcare sector while providing students with practical clinical experience.
“In health care right now, we are struggling with human resources. This partnership is important for us to staff our long-term care homes, and allows an opportunity for our students to specialize in long-term care,” said Samantha Moir, administrator of long-term care for Pioneer Ridge.
The Living Classroom features two training beds, a boardroom and a lifelike elderly mannequin capable of simulating breath and heart sounds, speaking, and allowing students to practice procedures like intravenous insertions and wound treatments.
“To be able to see this vision come alive is just so rewarding for our team. It used to be a storage space stuffed from floor to ceiling with all kinds of equipment — we didn’t really utilize the space to it’s greatest capacities. That’s what this Living Classroom is today,” Moir said.
The initiative is funded by the Government of Ontario and is led by the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging in partnership with the Ontario Association of Adult and Continuing Education School Board Administrators.
City officials say the Living Classroom also aligns with the goals of Thunder Bay’s Smart Growth Action Plan by strengthening workforce development, expanding hands-on learning opportunities and helping prepare healthcare workers needed to support the community’s future growth.