Jim's Place, the Assistive Technology House at St. Ambrose, has grown in reach through the introduction of a Virtual Demonstration and Training Site (VDTS).
Funded through a $185,234 grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the website showcases dozens of adaptive solutions for persons with disabilities on display at Jim's Place to anyone in the world.
Using 360-degree video cameras and interactive technology, the VDTS allows website visitors to identify and learn about solutions for particular adaptive challenges on their smartphone, tablet and computer.
"People can tour each room," said Jon Turnquist '92, '10 MOL, the AT lab director and an occupational therapy assistant professor. "You'll see hotspots you can click on for specific adaptive items, or you can scan around and look at the whole room."
The VDTS will serve everyone, but aging veterans and those wounded in combat were a particular focus for the project. "We have so many needs from so many veterans," noted Mike Etzel, department commander for the American Legion of Iowa. "This is going to be a great tool, a great resource to help them maybe solve their needs for their injury, for their circumstance."
Turnquist developed the site with the assistance of Adam Bickle, director of online strategy and web applications in the Communications and Marketing Office, and working with graduate assistants Mary Riedel, Megan Leon '16 and Alyssa Langevin '15, '17 MOT. He also credited Occupational Therapy Department Chair and Professor Lynn Kilburg, PhD, and Associate Professor Jill Schmidt, OTD.
Russell Construction and Zeglin's Appliances provided in-kind funding assistance. Jim's Place opened in 2011 with significant funding support from the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation and the family of James O'Rourke, for whom Jim's Place is named.
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