ASU Community Collaborative supports student-run clinic at Westward Ho

The Arizona State University Community Collaborative is a student-run clinic and community center located on the first floor of the Westward Ho, and the center provides residents with a wide range of assistance. The historic building is home to 300 low-income older adults and individuals with disabilities.

Services range from increasing social connection, providing supplemental food, counseling, community assistance and referrals, assistance with technology, educational and cultural enrichment opportunities, blood pressure checks, nutritional education, and disease prevention programs.

Stacey Gandy, coordinator at ASU Community Collaborative and a clinical assistant professor at ASU’s School of Social Work, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the downtown Phoenix community.

“The inside is absolutely gorgeous,” Gandy said, “…they have a beautiful ceiling in the lobby with pink pillars…you definitely get the historic regal feeling in the lobby.”

The program includes students from various areas, including social work, nursing, nutrition, program planning, and music therapy.

“So a wide variety of disciplines that come into practice what they’re learning in classes,” Gandy discussed, “…promote the well-being of the residents living at Westward Ho.”

Gandy emphasized the biggest need that the students support is social isolation and disconnectedness, which has become a growing issue in many older adults.

“…really one of the biggest things is to connect with the residents, and help them to feel seen and heard,” Gandy said.

One of the goals Gandy hopes the students take from this clinic is to expose them to older adults, to see if that is an area they want to specialize in.

“We know that even if they don’t specialize in that area, they’ll come across older adults,” Gandy explained, “…just to gain that experience of working with older adults, and being more familiar with older adults.”