As NBCC prepares learners for careers in their chosen fields, community and industry partners play a vital role. Whether they donate bursary funds or equipment, host workplace practicums, provide applied learning opportunities, visit classrooms as guest speakers or hire graduates, their contributions help make the NBCC experience extraordinary for students.
At the Woodstock Campus, a Planetree gold- designated nursing home with a commitment to the dignity of the neighbours who live there, is one of the College’s most important partners. Carleton Manor Nursing Home is an ongoing employer of Personal Support Worker (PSW) and Practical Nursing (PN) graduates, a scholarship donor, a clinical host, and an all-around friend to the College. It’s also the recipient of the 2020 Partner Award for the Woodstock Campus.
“We put our neighbours at the front and centre of every decision we make. It’s all about the person,” said Angela Acott-Smith, CEO of Carleton Manor. “If I don’t have well-trained, healthy, happy staff, I can’t provide that level of care.
“One of our neighbours likes to say, ‘Carleton Manor is the best, for the best’,” she added. “We’re able to give the best because we hire the best, and all of our health care professionals, PSWs and PNs, we hire from the College.”
NBCC benefits from its relationship with Carleton Manor through scholarship funds, clinical placements and job opportunities for graduates, but the partnership between the manor and the College isn’t just one-sided. The College gives back to the nursing home through special events and projects that benefit the manor neighbours.
“The Carpentry class, in particular, has a very special relationship with us,” said Acott-Smith. “They’ve built bookcases for us, a storage shed, benches…..they came here to meet with the neighbours to find out the specifications of what they wanted from these projects. The neighbours even helped pick out the stain.
“The students are just amazing with them,” she said. “They become part of the family when they’re here.”
