New path to employment program puts students in internships

COEUR d'ALENE - Wearing standard hospital employee garb, a scrub top and a name badge, Cynthia McNeil carefully pushed a toddler across the playground Wednesday at KMC Kids day care, the employee childcare center on the Kootenai Medical Center campus.

Zach Pugsley, similarly uniformed, stood nearby. He bent to move a toy out of the walking path of the youngsters he and McNeil were helping care for.

Pugsley and McNeil are enrolled in Project Search, a new educational program that provides workplace employment training for adult high school students with disabilities.

"I like working with the kids," Pugsley said. "It's fun, and it's really exciting for me to do."

The program is a joint effort between Kootenai Health, the Coeur d'Alene School District, TESH Inc., and the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

There are six students like Pugsley and McNeil, who have been participating in the program since September. Project Search offers eligible 18- to 21-year-olds unpaid internships that take place during the course of a regular school year.

Requirements for entering the Project Search program include: students must have completed enough high school credits necessary for graduation; be able to maintain appropriate behavior and social skills in the workplace; be able to take direction from supervisors; have achieved second or third grade reading and math levels; be able to communicate effectively; and have previous experience in a work environment.

"The biggest thing is the students have to have a desire to work in the community," Kirchner said.

There are six, 8- to 10-week internship rotations offered at various locations in the hospital: Equipment Transporter, Dietary Aide, Childcare Worker, Reprocessing Tech, Laundry Aide, and Housekeeper.

Student Joey Addy is completing a Reprocessing Tech rotation. He worked with fellow student Craig Daweritz de-linting towels by hand Wednesday in the hospital's Reprocessing Department.

"They sometimes use the towels for surgeries, and we have to remove the lint to avoid infection," Addy said.

Project Search serves as a last year of high school for adult students with deferred graduation, and provides hands-on workplace learning of job skills that will enable the students to meet employers' expectations upon completion of the program.

"We want them to be hired in the community," said Theresa Kirchner, the Project Search high school instructor.

Kirchner, a special education teacher with 15 years of experience, said this is her "dream job."

"This is my classroom and everything I do is right here," Kirchner said.

The program got its start in 1996 at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, by an emergency room director who was frustrated with the high turnover rate in entry-level jobs that involved restocking supplies. She worked with advocacy groups that worked on behalf of the disabled, and with workforce development groups to develop the Project Search model. It was a way to fill jobs while providing opportunities and advocacy for people with disabilities.

There are now 150 Project Search programs taking place in 39 states and four countries. The program at Kootenai Medical Center is the first Project Search program in Idaho.

Laurie Davis, KMC's director of materials management, said her employees who have a chance to work with the Project Search students are relishing the opportunity.

"Watching these young people grow and mature, and develop confidence about the work they're doing has been sort of amazing for us," Davis said. "It's as good for my people as it is for them."