Hospital Program Celebrates 20 Years Helping Students

You hear a lot in education these days about students being college and career ready.  The Vocational Intervention Project at Stormont-Vail HealthCare has been helping prepare students for careers for the past 20 years.  More than 700 students have gone through the program during that time.

The Vocational Intervention Project is a partnership between Stormont-Vail, Heartland Works and Topeka Public Schools.  The project introduces high school students to the health care industry by letting them work in the various departments within the hospital.  Some of the student who go through the program are now employed by Stormont-Vail.

Terriana spent two years in the hospital dietary department.  She says the experience helped her gain skills for work and helped her get a job.  Another student, Rakim, says he was shy and that the program brought him out of his shell and got him into the medical field.  He now attends Washburn University and is studying radiology, the same area he worked in at Stormont-Vail.

There are currently 18 students in the Vocational Intervention Project.