Diploma in Activation Co-ordinator - Gerontology George Brown College

The Diploma in Activation Co-ordinator/Gerontology program at George Brown College is a comprehensive program designed to provide students with knowledge and skills to work with older adults. The coursework covers a wide range of subjects including psychology, sociology, and physiology. Students learn about the aging process, care planning, activation techniques, and therapeutic activities. By combining theoretical knowledge and practical experience, the program aims to build competence in supporting the well-being of older adults. Students have the opportunity to gain practical experience through field placements. The program emphasizes the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle for the elderly, social engagement, cognitive stimulation, as well as ensuring overall well-being. The Activation Co-ordinator/Gerontology program prepares students for a rewarding career in long-term care facilities, community health agencies, and various other settings serving the older population. Successful graduates will be capable of designing, implementing, and evaluating various activity programs for geriatric patients or elderly individuals.

The college was established during the formation of Ontario's community college system in 1967. Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology were established on May 21, 1965. The college is named after George Brown, who was an important 19th-century politician and newspaper publisher (he founded the Toronto Globe, forerunner to The Globe and Mail) and was one of the Fathers of Confederation.

The college's predecessor, the Provincial Institute of Trades (PIT), was founded in 1951 to offer apprentice training on behalf of the provincial Department of Labour. In 1952, the PIT began operation at 21 Nassau Street in Toronto's Kensington Market and, after expanding with the construction of two additional buildings on the site, was offering programs in lathing and structural steel, barbering, diesel mechanics, jewellery arts, watchmaking and welding by 1961. In 1962 the province opened the Provincial Institute of Trades and Occupations (PITO), a sister training institute, at 555 Davenport Road near Casa Loma.

When George Brown College was formed in 1967, it absorbed both the PIT and PITO and opened its Kensington and Casa Loma campuses at the two institutes' former facilities. George Brown College also went on to absorb, in 1969, four former Toronto Board of Education Adult Education Centres in a third campus at 507 College Street and, in 1973, five Toronto-area Schools of Nursing in 1973, including: St. Joseph's, St. Michael's, Toronto General, Atkinson (Toronto Western) and Nightingale.

In 1973, a new expanded Casa Loma campus was opened. In 1976, the St. James Campus opened at 200 King Street East in buildings formerly belonging to Christie Bakery and Hallmark Cards.

The Hospitality building (300 Adelaide E.) opened at St. James Campus in 1987, the same year that the College Street Campus closed. Kensington Campus closed in 1994.