Nursing School Partners with Therapeutic Riding Program
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(阿比林, 德克萨斯州)本学期, Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing students began volunteering with 营能力, a therapeutic equine riding nonprofit in Buffalo Gap. 营能力 has long offered programs to 中间 school and high school students in Clyde and Jim Ned. This year, 营能力 began offering a group session for young adults with special needs. To accommodate this growth, 营能力 developed a partnership with Patty Hanks.
![Patty Hanks students practice leading a horse.](http://8u6y.healthydairyland.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/70983124_2118362188459447_8031611916084314112_o-300x225.jpg)
Patty Hanks students practice leading a horse.
“We are so grateful for [the nursing students’] 承诺 to participating in 营能力’s therapeutic riding programs for people with special needs and look forward to seeing them each week during the Fall sessions,” expressed 营能力 on their 脸谱网 page. 谢谢大家!”
The new riding groups meet every Tuesdays during the fall. The nursing students who assist at 营能力 went through orientation to prepare them to assist the young adults with whom they work.
关于 营能力
营能力’s mission is to cultivate healthy, independent living for people with special needs through equine-assisted therapy and skills-based training, with a special focus of using horses that have been given sanctuary from difficult circumstances. Its long-term vision is that self-sufficiency is a reasonable and achievable goal for humans, regardless of mental, 情感, and 物理 capabilities, with the full acceptance and understanding of their caregivers and society at large.
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Nursing students prepare to help young adults with special needs
营能力 offers daily therapeutic riding instruction and skills-based training to both individuals and groups, including children involved in life-skills programs at local elementary, 中间, and senior high schools. Approximately two-thirds of 营能力’s clients are school-aged children. The remainder are adults with a variety of special needs, including military veterans. 营能力 uses equine-assisted activities to help individuals with autism, 中风, 情感 and intellectual disabilities, 脑瘫, 唐氏综合症, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, anger management issues, 焦虑, 癌症, and other conditions.
For many people with special needs, the kinds of disabilities they experience may require unique approaches to therapy, 教育, or other accommodations. Equine-assisted therapy is one such 教育al accommodation that has been used successfully to improve the cognitive, 物理, 情感 and social well-being of people with special needs. While there are a number of equine-assisted therapy facilities throughout Texas, 营能力 is one of very few which exists in the Abilene area.
关于 Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing
![A Patty Hanks student cares for a 营能力 horse.](http://8u6y.healthydairyland.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/71107637_2123196511309348_2011782189187858432_o-300x225.jpg)
A Patty Hanks student cares for a 营能力 horse.
Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing (PHSSN), a consortium of Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University, is an intercollegiate program that serves two private universities. 教师, 工作人员, and student body are honored to be affiliated with Christian universities committed to preparing students for Christian leadership and service throughout Texas, 这个国家, 这个世界. Our faculty believe that nursing is a profession that is responsive to the changing health care needs of individuals and is supported by an expanding body of knowledge. 因信, 承诺, 毅力, and interdisciplinary collaboration, students are provided the opportunity to expand their understanding of health, 环境, 人, 和护理.