FGCU institute on positive aging aims to boost senior industry workforce

November 22, 2023 / Dr. Thomas Felke / Tags: aging, Shady Rest Foundation, Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging, positive aging

The Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging kicked off in 2022 after a $5 million gift from the Shady Rest Foundation. The foundation — formed with funds from the sale of the Shady Rest Nursing Home, which was founded in 1958 to provide care for low-income seniors in Lee County — had already gifted $4.1 million to FGCU for scholarships for students in nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant and social work degree programs. Now this second gift will help the university study and address issues that affect the more than 560,000 adults ages 60 and over living permanently in Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades, and Hendry counties, as well as the other seniors who live in the region for just part of the year.

“But I really think it’s going to be through the exposure piece,” says Felke. “That’s really what is going to allow our students to see just how relevant and impactful those carers with older adults can be for them.”

Read the full article online at - https://www.businessobserverfl.com/news/2023/nov/22/fgcu-institute-positive-aging-aims-boost-senior-industry-workforce/