HOPE program offers glimpse into healthcare careers for high school students

A new initiative aimed at training the next generation of healthcare professionals welcomed 50 Blazer High School students to the Ashland campus last week. The new HOPE (Health Occupation and Profession Experience) is a pilot program that will be offered to high schools in the tri-state. It’s a seven-week program that allows students to shadow 25 areas of the hospital, showing them what a career in healthcare could be like. The students spend about three hours learning, then get lunch in the Parkview Café. This past week, they visited the Emergency Department, our AIMS (Advanced Illness Management Services) nursing unit, and the Laboratory.

Workforce Development Specialist Stephan Harris said, “When I started at King’s Daughters last year, one of my main goals was to have every graduating student consider a career with us. The HOPE program is the way to make that happen.

“This project has been ongoing for the better part of six months. The collaboration between leadership, education, workforce development, and our clinical areas has been excellent. I couldn’t have chosen a better group of people to help push this forward.

“This program is the pilot—we are bringing in other area schools. There has never been a more important time to open our doors to the next generation of potential team members.”

The Blazer students will visit behind the scenes in Imaging this week.