Howard Young Medical Center, part of Ascension is the newest location in Wisconsin to be selected as a business partner for Project SEARCH.
Project SEARCH is a unique, one year business-led, school-to-work program that involves total workplace immersion by combining classroom instruction, career exploration and hands-on training for students with disabilities.
Set to launch this fall, Howard Young’s Project SEARCH program will feature 3-month rotations where participant interns will receive real-life work experience that provides them with the skills they need to obtain a job and succeed in Wisconsin’s workforce upon their graduation.
“Project SEARCH relies on local collaboration to provide staff and resources to help students in the program achieve their goals,” said Kathy Viergutz, Community Service Coordinator, Howard Young Medical Center and business partner liaison for the program.
As the business partner, Howard Young Medical Center will provide a training room with computer access for the interns who are led by a Skills Trainer as they establish individual education plans for participants who will spend 4-5 hours on the job each day. 10 to 12 students are expected to join the program in the first year.
To launch the program, Howard Young is partnering with the Lakeland, Tomahawk and Rhinelander School Districts, Wisconsin Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Headwaters, Inc., Wisconsin Long Term Support System and the Aging and Disability Resource Center.
“All of these partners play an important role for Project SEARCH in our community,” added Viergutz. “The ultimate goal upon program completion is for participants to obtain competitive employment utilizing the job skills learned on the internships and throughout the program.”
Howard Young is the 17th Project SEARCH location in Wisconsin and joins Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Marshfield, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Appleton and Mercy Medical Center, Oshkosh as Ascension facilities in the international program which helps educational institutes partner directly with businesses in the community and provide internships for students.
Howard Young along with its community partners will hold a Project SEARCH informational meeting for interested students and their families on Monday, March 20. The meeting will be held from 6-7 p.m. in the cafeteria at Howard Young Medical Center.
For more information on the informational meeting or Project SEARCH, please contact Viergutz at 715.356.8677 or kathy.viergutz@ascension.org.
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About Ascension Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, Ascension operates 24 hospitals and hundreds of related healthcare facilities that together employ more than 23,500 associates. Across the state, Ascension provided more than $230 million in community benefit and care of persons living in poverty in fiscal year 2016. Serving Wisconsin for 169 years, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Ascension is the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, operating 2,500 sites of care – including 141 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Visit ascension.org/wisconsin.
About Ascension
Ascension (ascension.org) is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In FY2016, Ascension provided more than $1.8 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Ascension includes approximately 150,000 associates and 36,000 aligned providers. Ascension’s Healthcare Division operates 2,500 sites of care – including 141 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia, while its Solutions Division provides a variety of services and solutions including physician practice management, venture capital investing, investment management, biomedical engineering, facilities management, clinical care management, information services, risk management, and contracting through Ascension’s own group purchasing organization.
About Project SEARCH:
Project SEARCH, based at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, is a business-led, one-year work-preparation program for young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Most participants are enrolled while transitioning from high school to work. The hallmark of Project SEARCH is total workplace immersion, which facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and hands-on training. Project SEARCH’s primary objective is to secure competitive employment for every program participant. For more information, visit projectsearch.us.