LEWISTON – Students of the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College Master of Occupational Therapy program took advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when they assisted Spring Harbor Hospital staff move patients from the former Portland location to the new site on Andover Road in Westbrook.

Erin Noyes, a student from Portland, indicated that it was “a spectacular opportunity to witness the enhancements in care available at the new facility that will benefit both patients and care givers.”

Specializing in the care of children and teens, Spring Harbor is also home to Maine’s only short-term inpatient treatment program for youth who experience serious mental illness and developmental disorders, including autism.

Each student was assigned to a Spring Harbor rehabilitation specialist and job shadowed with them for the day. The students’ primary responsibility was to help relieve patient anxiety created by the location change.

Students participated in a variety of events that ranged from co-leading stress reducing therapy groups, greeting patients upon arrival to the new facility and conducting orientations of the state-of-the-art treatment areas.

Claudia Henry, director of rehabilitation for Spring Harbor, said, “It was a unique educational experience for the MOT students. They witnessed the lengthy planning and detailed project management culminate in a successful and smooth transition.”

Applications for fall admission to the program are being accepted. An information session and open house will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 15. Anyone interested in learning more about occupational therapy is encouraged to attend. The session will be held in room 170 at USM’s Lewiston-Auburn College, 51 Westminster St. Light refreshments will be served. Those who wish to attend are asked to call Luisa at 753-6523.