Three Sentara hospitals celebrate Project SEARCH graduates
Project SEARCH provides job skills training for students with disabilities
Jordan Bradley and Tavion Brown loved learning CPR. Alex Davis learned to dress professionally, be on time and speak to be heard. Emma Quinley loves her mentors in Sterile Processing like family.
These high school seniors with intellectual and developmental disabilities were among seven 2023 graduates of Project SEARCH at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton, Va. In all, there were 21 graduates from three Sentara hospitals, including Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center and Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Sentara CarePlex was the first Project SEARCH site in Virginia in 2008.
Project SEARCH is a program with sites all over the country. It is a partnership between organizations, school divisions, and state agencies to prepare students with intellectual disabilities for the workforce. The program provides job skills training and social skills so students can land real jobs upon graduation.
Students accepted into Project SEARCH spend their senior year of high school at the hospital. They attend class for an hour a day to learn how to dress appropriately, arrive on time, write a resume, succeed at job interviews and work with other people in a team environment. They work for the rest of the day in participating departments, including food services, supply chain, health information management, imaging and others. They wash dishes and support the food services team in the cafeteria, restock gloves and linens and greet and escort patients in waiting areas. The students spend 10 weeks in three different departments during their training.
Some Project SEARCH graduates apply for jobs with Sentara, and get them. Others take the skills they learned in the program and look for jobs in the community with assistance from The Choice Group, a DARS contractor who helps adults with special needs obtain and keep jobs.
“If I had a business, I would hire them,” says Rose Blevins, Project SEARCH educator with the Hampton Public Schools. “They have employable skills and a terrific work ethic. They can do more than bag groceries, and more companies should give them a chance.”
These high school seniors with intellectual and developmental disabilities were among seven 2023 graduates of Project SEARCH at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton, Va. In all, there were 21 graduates from three Sentara hospitals, including Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center and Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Sentara CarePlex was the first Project SEARCH site in Virginia in 2008.
Project SEARCH is a program with sites all over the country. It is a partnership between organizations, school divisions, and state agencies to prepare students with intellectual disabilities for the workforce. The program provides job skills training and social skills so students can land real jobs upon graduation.
Students accepted into Project SEARCH spend their senior year of high school at the hospital. They attend class for an hour a day to learn how to dress appropriately, arrive on time, write a resume, succeed at job interviews and work with other people in a team environment. They work for the rest of the day in participating departments, including food services, supply chain, health information management, imaging and others. They wash dishes and support the food services team in the cafeteria, restock gloves and linens and greet and escort patients in waiting areas. The students spend 10 weeks in three different departments during their training.
Some Project SEARCH graduates apply for jobs with Sentara, and get them. Others take the skills they learned in the program and look for jobs in the community with assistance from The Choice Group, a DARS contractor who helps adults with special needs obtain and keep jobs.
“If I had a business, I would hire them,” says Rose Blevins, Project SEARCH educator with the Hampton Public Schools. “They have employable skills and a terrific work ethic. They can do more than bag groceries, and more companies should give them a chance.”