Grant Takes Jim's Place Worldwide

St. Ambrose University has introduced a Virtual Demonstration and Training Site for Home Independence (VDTS) that will allow persons with disabilities anywhere to view and evaluate the adaptive solutions on display at Jim's Place, the University's Assistive Technology House.

The virtual training site was funded through a $185,234 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The grant also helped fund an adaptive remodel of the existing kitchen at the demonstration home near campus.

The grant was approved in 2016, with a goal of allowing veterans from across the United States, particularly those with war-related disabilities, to discover ways to continue living in their own homes with the use of adaptive solutions and new technologies.

U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), who assisted in the grant application process, joined Sr. Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD, president of St. Ambrose, and Jon Turnquist, director of the assistive technology lab at St. Ambrose, in unveiling the new site.

Rep. Loebsack cited recent information that estimated more than 14.2 million veterans in the United States are aged 55 or older, with 4.9 million of those reported to have a service-related disability.

"Aging veterans are more likely to need assistive technology to maintain their health and to age in the comfort of their homes," he said. "In Iowa, nearly 70 percent of our veterans live in rural communities where access to health care and health care resources are limited. This is why the Virtual Demonstration and Training Site is so important.

"This site is a perfect resource for a Veterans Administration that strives to be responsive to technological advances and opportunities in its service to veterans," Loebsack added. "I am pleased to be here today to celebrate this new innovation and St. Ambrose University's commitment to our nation's veterans."

Said Mike Etzel, department commander for the American Legion of Iowa: "We have so many needs from so many veterans. Now, if they can't come here, if they can't get out of the house, they can get on a computer or a smartphone and they can see what's available. This is going to be a great tool, a great resource to help them maybe solve their needs for their injury, for their circumstance.

"The American Legion is very much watching and working with the VA to ensure that what they're doing for veterans is needed and money well spent," he added. "This is well-spent."

Jeff London, executive director of VA's Home Loan Program, certainly agreed.

"The VA is proud to sponsor research into emerging technologies that improve home adaptations or otherwise enhance disabled veteran and service members' ability to live as independently as possible," he said. "Assisted technologies, such as those highlighted in St. Ambrose' virtual tours, will augment veteran and service members' options for living independently in their own homes and open doors for others looking to modify their homes to fit their needs."

Sr. Joan praised the ongoing work of Turnquist and the Occupational Therapy program's faculty, staff and students for helping Jim's Place continue to evolve.

"Six years ago, we gathered here to dedicate this tremendous facility," she said. "Jim's Place, then and now, is a model like no other, a place where individuals, their caregivers and family members and health professionals who serve them can discover technologies to improve their quality of care and life.

Expanding the reach of this remarkable resource beyond the region, particularly to our nation's veterans, is a sensible and very gratifying next step.

"I congratulate Jon and the faculty, staff and students in our OT department for their outstanding work. I also extend our thanks to Congressman Loebsack, the Department of Veterans Affairs and all of the community partners who helped bring this project to completion."

Turnquist will make a presentation on the Virtual Demonstration and Training Site for Home Independence at the American Occupational Therapy Association national conference in Salt Lake City in April.

He said the site continues the ongoing advance of technology at Jim's Place, which began with seed funding from the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation and opened in 2011 thanks to the support of the family of the late Jim O'Rourke, for whom the Assistive Technology House is named.

"I don't think Jim's Place will ever be finished," he said. "Technology always increases and changes. Six years ago, assistive technology was going through a renaissance. And now it's actually going through a revolution."

Costs of the adaptive kitchen remodeling were controlled with the help of Russell Construction Inc., of Davenport, which provided the supervision of project manager Brian Hedgren as an in-kind donation. Zeglin's Appliances of the Quad Cities sold new appliances at cost and also negotiated a price reduction from the manufacturer, General Electric.