On Dec. 15, the college’s Respiratory Care senior students held their annual holiday gift giving celebration for the residents of Pathways Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Niskayuna.
“All senior students in the Respiratory Care program rotate to complete some clinical education at the facility,” said Department Chair Patricia Hyland. “They get to know the children and the staff there. This has become an annual tradition for our department and a perfect way to celebrate the holiday season.”
For the past 12 years, students and faculty have purchased, wrapped and delivered presents to the Pathway Center’s 37 children, many of whom are permanently on ventilators to support their breathing. The young woman pictured below on a ventilator with the Christmas light head band, has been a resident every year since this event began. She’ll asks students “when is the party?” when they first meet her. The event is truly something she looks forward to all year long. Each child at the center receives a special gift, and the students and faculty also raise funds to purchase additional toys for the dayroom, bean bag chairs and personal items such as hats, mittens and decorative blankets.
The annual tradition is funded through the generosity of students and faculty from the Respiratory Care program and this year Glens Falls Hospital’s Respiratory Therapists and “Active Ingredient Brewery” Company in Malta. AIB sponsored a fundraising night that raised over $700.
