Many students spend reading week socializing, relaxing or studying.

Some even read.

For 10 Humber health sciences students, though, this year’s reading week will be an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of 240 children living at the Valle de los Angeles orphanage, as well as more remote communities in Guatemala.

Students in the Practical Nursing, Bachelor of Nursing and Early Childhood Education – Advanced Studies in Special Needs programs will be travelling to Guatemala to assist healthcare professionals, including two physicians, in providing care to the children at the orphanage as well as a series of mobile clinics in the region.

“Reaching out to under-resourced communities will give our students an eye-opening experience, and help them grow in their abilities to be culturally sensitive,” says nursing professor Francisca Burg-Feret, who has volunteered in the area for many years and is supervising the trip. “We’re looking to develop sustainable relationships with the people we meet, and to provide what those host communities tell us they need.”

The students will be in Guatemala from February 14 until February 22. Stay tuned for stories and photos about their experiences when they return.

More than 3,500 people in Canada have sickle cell disease (SCD), and more than 75 per cent of them live in Ontario. So when Tiney Beckles, a lab instructor with Humber's School of Health Sciences, discovered that her students doing clinical placements weren’t familiar with the disease, she knew she had to do something.

In June 2012, Humber held its first conference devoted to teaching health sciences students about SCD, a genetic disorder that causes malformed hemoglobin, resulting in severe pain, increased risk of infection and even death.

This past week, the college wrapped up its third SCD conference, hosting a day of talks for students in the Bachelor of Nursing, Personal Support Worker, Practical Nursing and Early Childhood Education programs. Presenters included doctors, nurses, social workers and a panel of patients.

“We wanted to make sure that Humber Health Sciences puts sickle cell disease on the map,” explains Sylwia Wojtalik, a professor in Humber's nursing program and one of the organizers of the conference, along with Beckles and Janet Jeffery, another professor. “It’s a serious disease, but it’s often misunderstood. This is a chance to connect our students with the local community and local organizations and break down the walls between academia and practice.”

The disease largely affects people with African, South Asian, Mediterranean or South American roots.  A person can be a carrier of the sickle cell trait and not become sick; however, when two carriers have a baby, there is a 50 per cent chance that their child will be a carrier and a 25 per cent chance that the baby will be born with the disease.

For the students who attended, the conference was a valuable way to learn more about a disease they’re already seeing in their placements.

“I work at a pediatric clinic where we’ve seen several children under one with sickle cell disease, ” says Cheyenne, a nursing student. “I’m happy to be finding out about signs and symptoms, as well as appropriate interventions to use with these patients in the future.”

According to practical nursing student Henrietta, raising overall awareness is as important as practical skills.

“A workshop like this enlightens us – it raises awareness,” she says. “It’s valuable for nurses, healthcare workers, social workers – anyone who wants to know about sickle cell.”

For more information on sickle cell disease, go to http://sicklecellanemia.ca/.

Daiva Lapas has two sons, aged 17 and 24.

Her 17-year-old, who will be graduating from high school this year, has Asperger Syndrome. Her 24-year-old has autism.

Life can be challenging for Lapas’s family. As she says, laughing,“The cat’s the least demanding child.”

Now, Lapas is using those challenges to help teach Humber students.

Lapas was at the North Campus earlier this month to share her family’s experiences with students in the Early Childhood Education – Advanced Studies in Special Needs (ECAS) program, part of an ongoing effort to give students a real-world perspective on what life is like for families living with autism spectrum disorders.

One of eight families participating in the program, Lapas met with a group of four students over two sessions. After learning about her sons and talking about some of their challenges in an initial meeting, the students provided Lapas with a set of resources – in this case, a list of respite and residential options for her older son. In another group, to help dad (and Humber faculty) Craig MacCalman deal with his daughter's tantrums, the students put together a list of children’s books, relaxation resources and demonstrated how to use puppets to talk about difficult issues.

“I love participating in this program,” says Lapas, who has been working with Humber students since the Families as Faculty initiative began five years ago. “The students provide great insights, and I’ve found out some great ideas. Plus, I can share my own approach and experiences, which will help the students when they get out in the world.”

MacCalman says that, along with the resources provided, one of the valuable aspects of the program is helping him think about reacting differently to his daughter's outbursts.

"As a paramedic, I would never argue with a patient who had mental health issues -- we're taught to stay calm, and not escalate a situation," he says. "These sessions are helping me remember that I have to do that with my daughter as well."

For the students, hearing about parents’ experiences first-hand helps them see on working with children with special needs through a whole different lens – one that’s hard to learn in the classroom.

“Hearing about these challenges from a parent puts it in a whole different perspective,” says Marianne Milakovic, one of the students in Lapas’s group. “While what we learn in the classroom is definitely valuable, this is closer to what we’ll be working with in our careers – it’s a real-life situation, which you don’t always learn about in textbooks.”

For more information on Humber's Early Childhood Education – Advanced Studies in Special Needs program, go to http://www.humber.ca/program/early-childhood-education-advanced-studies-....

For 10 students in Humber's nursing, practical nursing and early childhood education--advanced studies in special needs programs, this year's Reading Week was one they'll never forget.

The team travelled to an orphanage in Guatemala, accompanied by Humber nursing professor Francisca Burg-Feret, a pediatrician and a family physician, where they helped perform health assessments on the children at the orphanage. They also travelled to remote areas of the country to hold a series of health clinics.

Watch the video to learn more about their experience.

Jason Powell, dean of Humber's School of Health Sciences, has been appointed to the council of the College of Early Childhood Educators. The 24-member council governs the college, which regulates and certifies early childhood educators in Ontario.

The council consists of 14 members of the college who are elected by other members, and 10 members who are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council.

“Over the past several years Jason has been an excellent advocate for our own registered Early Childhood Educators, and I am confident that he will represent our profession in a way that will make us all proud,” says Bridge Woodcock, the director of Humber's child care centres and a registered ECE. “I am very pleased that he will be a voice at the table.”

Humber’s health sciences students now have a big, bright, brand new space to learn their craft.

On Wednesday, the college officially opened the new Humber Interactive Space (HIVES) – part of a $21.4 million investment to enhance the North Campus F building, which involved adding two additional floors onto the existing two-storey structure.

The space, which will support students in the School of Health Sciences, features anatomy, biochemistry and cadaver labs, along with a full suite of Funeral Services learning resources, including embalming and cosmetology labs, a cold-storage room and a casket selection room.

The new floors will also house facilities for Humber’s new biotechnology diploma program, which launches in September.

“It means that students will be learning in state-of-the-art facilities,” says Jason Powell, dean of the School of Health Sciences. “It means they’re going to learn in environments that will replicate what they’re going to experience (in the working world).”

The addition also includes 4,700 square feet of study space and 13 new classrooms across two floors. The space will help accommodate 1,000 new students.

“I think [the building] is awesome,” says Katrina Mio, a student in the Bachelor of Nursing program. “There’s more space in the labs. They even have this new room with big TVs, which is really nice for tutorials instead of our small, cramped tutorial rooms we used to have.

“I think Humber’s pretty awesome [for doing this],” Mio adds. “The new LRC building is fantastic – so this is now another great space on campus!”

Recognizable in their bright red T-shirts and jackets, the volunteer members of the Humber Campus Emergency Response Team (HCERT) have been fixtures at the North Campus since 2013, seen providing medical assistance at a number of special events.

Now, the team is officially its own division of St. John Ambulance, meaning they can select their own shift times. Previously, the team was part of the Peel Dufferin Branch division.

Starting in the fall, HCERT volunteers will be available on campus during the week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Casey Rowed, a graduate of Humber’s paramedic program, collaborated with paramedic professor Craig MacCalman to get HCERT off the ground.

Laura McKenzie started volunteering with HCERT last September.

“It’s been amazing!” McKenzie, who is entering her third year in the nursing program, says enthusiastically. “I love it. It is great to give back to your campus and work with another profession. When I become a nurse I’ll be working with paramedics, so it’s great to see things from a different perspective – how they work, how they answer calls.”

HCERT will begin recruiting for more volunteers come September. Anyone from any program can sign up and will receive first aid training.

Two years in, the response to HCERT thrills MacCalman, as does the collaboration between programs it inspires.

“This is evidence of true collaboration,” he says. “Already we’ve brought nursing and paramedic students together, and I think we can only expand on that. We’ve got an occupational therapy assistant and physiotherapy assistant program in which they could offer great benefits to the students in the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries … That is the end goal: to collaborate across the schools [and] across the programs.”

For more information on HCERT email humbercert@gmail.com, or find them on Twitter @humbercert.

It was November 4, 2011. Paramedics – and Humber grads – Robert Bronson and Heiko Mueller were on duty, driving along Danforth Avenue in Toronto’s east end, when they noticed two men fighting.

One of the men was an undercover police officer attempting to arrest an alleged dangerous suspect. During the scuffle, the suspect got hold of the officer’s gun. Bronson and Mueller helped detain the suspect until backup arrived.

Bronson and Mueller, along with fellow Humber graduate Janice Baine, were three of 18 paramedics to receive the Ontario Award for Paramedic Bravery in a ceremony last month. The inaugural awards, held in Toronto last month, recognized paramedics for courageous on-the-job or off-duty acts.

“Everything happened so quickly,” Bronson recalls. “As I drove by and glanced in my rearview mirror, I noticed two men struggling on the road. We were concerned that a car might hit them.”

He called his dispatcher to request police backup, and then they made their way back to the scene on foot.

“As we got closer … we noticed they were still fighting on the ground. Then I heard the larger man call out ‘He has my gun!’”

Bronson, Mueller and their summer student, who was studying at Humber at the time, ran to help the plainclothes officer.

“I actually had control of the suspect’s arm that was lying underneath his body, trying to grab hold of the officer's loose gun,” Bronson explains. “When I pulled his arm out, I manipulated it to … prevent him from fully holding onto the weapon, allowing the officer to regain control of his gun. I didn't know where the gun was until I saw the suspect partially grasping it.”

Baine, an operations superintendent, was honoured along with five others for rushing to the scene after a mass shooting in Toronto’s east end. On July 16, 2012, 21 people were injured and two killed at a community celebration.

As police continued to look for the shooters, paramedics set up treatment areas at the scene. When the paramedics learned one of the shooters was hiding close by they discreetly told police, who made an arrest without further incident.

Bronson, who has been a paramedic for more than 20 years, says he feels honoured to receive the award.

“I want to accept this on behalf of every medic for putting everything on the line on a daily basis … There are many other medics out there that perform acts of bravery and go unrecognized.”

Humber has partnered with a Jamaican college to establish a funeral services program – the first of its kind in the Caribbean.

The program was officially launched July 22 at Montego Bay Community College.

“We’re going to support them implementing their own credential,” explains Jason Powell, dean of the School of Health Sciences. “They will offer local and regional specific curriculum which identifies and supports their legal framework for funeral directors.”

Talk of a potential partnership began two years ago, when Powell and two professors travelled to Kingston, Jamaica, where Humber has a partnership with the University of Technology.

While there they visited Montego Bay and the college, meeting with Dr. Angela Samuels Harris, the principal.

“(She) talked with us about forming a partnership for funeral services, because there was a need and there was no formal education for funeral services on the entire island, nor anywhere in the Caribbean,” says Powell.

He sees the budding partnership as a chance to send students and faculty on exchange to Montego Bay.

“I would love to see our students go there and learn about a different way of caring for the dead. I would love to see their students come to us and get some experience here so they could return and be leaders in funeral services implementation in Jamaica.”

Dr. Fenton Ferguson, Jamaica’s health minister, praised the partnership at the launch event, calling it “historic, visionary and one which demands attention at the highest level.”

“Those who operate in the industry need to be properly equipped to adequately serve the needs of clients, while observing proper public health standards, aiding the national security, and protecting the environment,” he said in the Jamaica Observer.

“It’s a really exciting opportunity to provide expertise, to provide intelligence, to a country that has the desire to be more like us – to provide ethical and compassionate care to the bereavement sector in Jamaica is very exciting,” says Powell. “For Humber to be there to lend a helping hand is something that I think we should be very proud of.”

Samuels Harris says Humber’s assistance was instrumental in getting the program off the ground.

“We are pleased to be the first institution in Jamaica and indeed in the Caribbean to be offering a program in Funeral Services and Mortuary Science,” she told the crowd at the launch. “However, being a pioneer comes with challenges so we needed some experienced mentors. We were very fortunate to have the generous assistance and partnership of (Humber College), one of the premier colleges in Canada.”

Amey Gentile’s patients, family and volunteer colleagues always knew she was remarkable. Now the Belleville, Ontario nurse and Humber graduate has an award to prove it.
Since 2013, Gentile has worked Kingston General Hospital’s Belleville Dialysis Clinic. She’s also a leading volunteer with Adopt-A-Child, which provides low-income working families and those on social assistance with new winter clothing.
For her work she has received the Remarkable Woman of Quinte award, an annual honour that recognizes women who make a difference in their communities. Gentile was one of five nominees this year.
“I was so humbled and honoured just to have been nominated,” says Gentile, a 2012 practical nursing graduate, adding that hearing her name called left her “completely speechless.”
A dedicated student (she was back at Humber days after giving birth to her second child), Gentile says the program gave her the confidence to get into nursing.
“The skills, abilities, education and resources (in the nursing program) were so well thought out, planned and executed, that I felt confident to begin my career as an RPN (Registered Practical Nurse),” Gentile says. “It was never easy, but I know I was constantly being pushed and challenged so I could be as prepared as any new graduate could, and then some!”

With floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the Arboretum, workspaces that encourage group learning and the latest technology, Humber’s newest classrooms are proving to be a hit.

Three months ago students got their first look at the HIVES (Humber Interactive Spaces) – part of an expansion to North Campus’s F building.

It features shiny new anatomy, biochemistry and cadaver labs, along with facilities for the funeral services program and the college’s new biotechnology program.

“They’re meant to be collaborative learning spaces, where students can learn from and with each other, as well as from the professor,” says Eileen DeCourcy, Humber’s associate vice president of Teaching and Learning.

“We know that the physical space we create affects behaviour, and we also know that there is a transformation underfoot of higher education with the increased use of technology,” she continues. “Information is accessible everywhere, so it really does change the dynamic of the relationship between the professor and the students.”

In the HIVES students sit five or six to a table – called “pods” – clustered around a large flat screen TV. The professor can control what appears, or students in each pod can plug in their phone, laptop or tablet and use the screen for small group work.

“The HIVES allow me to do a much better job using inquiry-based learning to help my students learn the legislation they need to know for their licensing exams,” says Jeff Caldwell, a funeral services professor.

“The students are already in small groups where they can work (together), but then, being hooked up to the screens around the room, it makes it a lot more efficient for them to be able to show their classmates what it is that they’re learning (and) how they learned it.

“This way I find the students are a lot more focused and a lot more on topic discussion takes place. I have a lot of fun in (the HIVES) and try to use the screens as much as possible.”

Professor Kristina Lisk, who teaches clinical anatomy in the HIVES, praised the setup of the classrooms.

“The way the room’s set up is great because the students are already in groups in the pods. It really helps encourage collaboration.

“The space is brighter and bigger (than where I was teaching before). It has so much flexibility, because we can move the desks and create a circle. It easily allows people to work in groups because the desks are already facing each other and the chairs have wheels on them.”

With the success of the HIVES at North Campus, DeCourcy says the college’s Classroom Redesign Committee is looking into recreating the design at Lakeshore.

Humber is the first publicly-funded postsecondary institution in Ontario to offer a comprehensive traditional Chinese medicine program.

The three-year Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner (TCM) advanced diploma begins in September 2016 at the college’s North Campus. It is offered through the School of Health Sciences.

Graduates of the program will be qualified to practice acupuncture, as well as prescribe herbal therapy for a variety of medical conditions. Graduates will also be eligible for the national examination, and upon successful completion of the exam, be licensed with the College of TCM Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario (CTCMPAO) as a TCM Practitioner. 

“We always aspire to be leaders in health care education, and this is our next innovative program to support high quality health care providers for Ontarians,” says Jason Powell, dean of the School of Health Sciences. “We will also be able to lead research initiatives in this area and evaluate the efficacy of TCM as a treatment option for medical conditions along with overall health and wellness promotion.”

For more information about the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner program, visit www.humber.ca/program/traditional-chinese-medicine-practitioner. To apply, go to www.ontariocolleges.ca.

Tanya Williams was still in diapers when her family realized something was wrong.

“I was always an active baby –walking and moving around,” she says. “One day my parents noticed that I was not walking anymore, but crawling, and that I would spend most of the day crying.”

Her parents brought her to the hospital, where she was transferred to the Hospital for Sick Children. There, doctors informed them their daughter had sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders. People with SCD have abnormal hemoglobin – the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout their body. This lack of oxygen can cause unexpected, severe pain attacks, called pain crises, and often results in hospital stays.

“The diagnosis did hinder me from participating in strenuous activities such as sports and being active in general,” says Williams, a practicing nurse. “I was also unable to go swimming due to the fact that the cold water could trigger a crisis.”

This Monday, March 7, Williams is one of several people who will be speaking at a daylong sickle cell workshop for students and faculty. It takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Humber North Community Room (NX111).

 She will be talking about her experience with SCD and what nurses do to help patients who have it.

“What I would say to someone that is diagnosed with SCD is to stay positive, Williams says. “Attitude determines our altitude, meaning having an optimistic outlook on life will take you farther in life that you think.

“There is life after diagnosis!”

If you would like to attend the workshop, email sylvia.wojtalik@humber.ca to register. Space is limited.

Four Humber professors have been recognized for their leadership and contributions to the Humber community and beyond.

The John and Suanne Roueche Excellence Awards, handed out yearly, acknowledge community college faculty and staff for outstanding work.

Humber’s winners are:

• Bernard Aron, Professor, Business School;   
• Craig MacCalman, Professor, School of Health Sciences;
• Rick Simone, Professor, School of Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism; and
• Doug Wright, Professor, School of Liberal Arts and Science   

“It is an honour to be recognized for my efforts inside and outside of the classroom,” says MacCalman, who teaches in the paramedic program. “It is also very humbling, as I teach and collaborate with so many brilliant educators whose efforts and successes are just as innovative and deserving of recognition.”

MacCalman teaches full-time at Humber, in addition to working part-time as a Peel Region paramedic. He describes his teaching style as one that set his students up to be critical thinkers.

“I see myself as a facilitator and coach inside and outside of the classroom. My goal is to assist every learner in developing the critical and reflective thinking needed in the paramedic profession. By using real-world examples, I challenge students to apply learning in every interaction with me. I often leave the students with questions each week to insure they are always thinking.”

Visit http://special.league.org/exawards/recognition/recipients/ for more information about the winners.

In the past few weeks alone, more than 50 medical professionals have been killed as civil war in Syria rages on.

In that number are two complete crews of paramedics. The 50 also includes Dr. Muhammad Wassim Mo’az. He was the last pediatrician in the city of Aleppo.

The ongoing conflict is why Mark Cameron, a Humber College paramedic graduate, is fundraising to support a Syrian hospital and train new doctors and nurses.

His non-profit organization Canadian International Medical Relief Organization (CIMRO) is holding a fundraiser May 14 at Humber’s Black Box Theatre. It features renowned mentalist Jaymes White.

“The regime is targeting first responders and medical professionals,” says Cameron, who founded CIMRO with pediatrician Dr. Jay Dahman. “We need to stand up against that.”

Cameron and Dahman have been travelling to Syria since 2012 to deliver supplies, train medical professionals and help the injured. There are approximately 100 people that work for them full-time in Syria.

“Their (Syrians) social fabric has been destroyed and they have no choice but to flee,” Cameron says.

“That’s why it’s such an important time to support these medical professionals. Quite frankly, especially at the physician level, most of them could leave. Most of the physicians over there, especially the specialists, have medical licenses in other countries because Syria typically sends specialist doctors away for training.

“I don’t think people recognize just how easy it would be for a pediatrician over there to pack up and go to France and become a pediatrician there. Germany has scooped a lot of doctors in exactly this manner. The ones that stay behind are pretty special. They’re the Hippocratic Oath in action.”

With the arrival of Syrian refugees in Canada receiving increased media attention, Cameron says donations to CIMRO and other medical charities have dropped significantly.

“There are real desperate people still over there,” he says. “It’s hard to believe that it could get worse every day, but it does.”

White the mentalist is putting on two shows May 14, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. There will be refreshments served and a silent auction.

“I got involved with this fundraiser because CIMRO is doing work I believe in,” White says. “They are great people trying to do the right thing.”

Tickets, which are $34.52 each, can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Jason Powell, dean of Humber's School of Health Sciences, has been appointed to the council of the College of Early Childhood Educators. The 24-member council governs the college, which regulates and certifies early childhood educators in Ontario.

The council consists of 14 members of the college who are elected by other members, and 10 members who are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council.

“Over the past several years Jason has been an excellent advocate for our own registered Early Childhood Educators, and I am confident that he will represent our profession in a way that will make us all proud,” says Bridge Woodcock, the director of Humber's child care centres and a registered ECE. “I am very pleased that he will be a voice at the table.”

Lite Brite, VR and a robotic hand: Humber at the Maker Extravaganza

On July 9 and 10, 2016, wearables, robots and 3D printers took over the Toronto Reference Library for Maker Extravaganza. Humber College was there, and made a splash with virtual reality and a large-scale Lite Brite. Click the link to see some of the best photos and videos from the weekend.