The Occupational Therapy Assistant program at SUNY Jamestown Community College held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for its Explore and Soar pediatric sensory clinic located on the first floor of the Sheldon Center on the Jamestown Campus.
Sarah Tranum, director of the OTA program, gave an overview of the clinic and its goals.
“We want to provide the best educational experience possible for our students. They get hands-on learning experiences by working here,” she said. “But really we wanted to focus on children and families. We know that we have something special here that we can give to the community.”
Explore and Soar uses JCC’s OTA program to provide free occupational therapy interventions to children, support and information for their families. The clinic offers students enrolled in the OTA program their first opportunity to observe skills they are learning about in the classroom in a practical setting. As students progress through their coursework, they begin to work in the clinic, giving them hands-on experience with clients and their families while they work toward their degree.
PJ Wendel, Chautauqua County Executive, presented a proclamation and underscored the importance and need for the clinic in the area.
“For kids who need OT, this is amazing,” he said. “This facility and what it brings to this classroom and students is second to none.”
In its first two semesters, the clinic served 12 children and 10 families, with 27 students gaining practical experience serving them.
Daniel DeMarte, president of JCC, commended Tranum for her hard work and dedication to the OTA program and the growing clinic.
Noting Tranum’s “drive,” “energy,” and “attitude,” DeMarte thanked her “for years of making this the best program it can be for your students, for the community we serve, for the profession, and for this college.”
Tranum said Explore and Soar may be the first clinic of its kind in the nation. She hopes to grow the program by networking with other colleges and offering them training opportunities in the space. This would allow the clinic to in turn serve more children and families.
“There’s so many things that we know we can do with this space,” Tranum said.
Others attending the event were Phillip Landy, Chautauqua County Legislature; Christine Rinaldi, representative for Congressman Nick Langworthy; Lisa Vanstrom, representative for Senator George Borello and Assemblyman Andy Goodell; Daniel Heitzenrater, president and CEO of the Chautauqua Chamber of Commerce and JCC Board of Trustees member; and Randy Daversa, Jamestown City Council.
A virtual tour of the clinic can be found at sunyjcc.edu/programs/occupational-therapy-assistant-aas/clinic.