Tag: Workforce Board Lehigh Valley

St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) and Workforce Board Lehigh Valley have been teaming up for 15 years to offer on-the-job training to mostly low-income high school students to learn about health care professions. 

Victoria Montero, St. Luke’s network director of Community Workforce Development, said the Health Career Exploration Program, gives students from Lehigh and Northampton counties the opportunity to work alongside St. Luke’s employees throughout the school year in clinical and non-clinical settings close to where they live. 

What started as a mentoring program for the English as a second language (ESL) learners during the summer, has grown into a year-long program for 30 students who meet the criteria outlined by Workforce Board Lehigh Valley, Montero said. The program receives more than 100 applicants each year. 

“Through the Health Career Exploration Program, St. Luke’s exposes students from diverse backgrounds to careers in the health care industry, helps them gain insight into clinical and non-clinical roles, teaches them job-keeping and job-seeking skills, helps them understand future employment opportunities, and builds confidence in their abilities,” Montero said.   

Most of the students identify at Hispanic with about a quarter identifying as Black/African American, she added. 

“Health care is the number-one employer in the Lehigh Valley, and it is imperative that we provide work-based opportunities to youth, our potential workforce, to ensure they have an opportunity to preview health care occupations and learn about the enormous opportunities for employment and continuing growth in the health care industry,” said Nancy Dischinat, executive director of Workforce Board Lehigh Valley.    

“We do as much as we can to fill jobs and this is creating the future for the health care industry,” Dischinat said. “I call them the little widgets coming out of high school that will fill jobs to care for our aging population.” 

Jayla Marrero, from Freedom High School, who participated this year, said, “I always wanted to work in healthcare, and this program gave me my first opportunity to see the inside workings of a hospital.”  

 She spent six months of the program working after school helping nurses and trauma patients at St. Luke’s Bethlehem campus.  She is enrolled in Northampton Community College to study nursing, then will head off to Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina where she hopes to specialize in OB/GYN or pediatrics.   

Samuel Uben, from William Allen High School, was assigned to the radiology department at St. Luke’s Allentown Campus, where he transported patients and was able to communicate with them in their primary language as he is bilingual in Spanish and English.   

 “This was a really good experience for me,” said Uben, who added he learned radiologic terminology and even received tips on how to read an x-ray. He had volunteered at St. Luke’s for several years previously because, “I really like helping people.” 

Uben said he hopes to become certified as an x-ray technician after completing his bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and computer science at Kutztown University where he was accepted on a “full ride” scholarship.      

Students must apply and interview for a position in the Health Career Exploration Program. Once selected, they are paid by Workforce Board Lehigh Valley. Montero said the students work about 15 per week after school and can work up to 500 hours throughout the school year. 

 Montero said the students go through a one-on-one interview and are taught valuable job skills like how to dress, communicate, and the proper use of body language. They also learn how to develop a resume, she said. 

“It is an intensive orientation, and we meet with the parents because they are part of their children’s professional growth,” she said. 

Once they are accepted, the students become contingent workers and are treated like regular St. Luke’s employees. Montero said the students are placed in St. Luke’s facilities close to where they live so transportation and other barriers are lifted. 

“They work closely with the staff on their unit and become part of the team,” she said. “We couldn’t do this without the support of the staff.” 

The program offers students an opportunity to become employees after graduating from high school, which gives them access to tuition discounts if they choose to pursue a career within St. Luke’s educational programs. 

Montero said those students who choose post-secondary education can come back to St. Luke’s after graduation to pursue a career as well. 

“Ninety-eight percent of our students graduate high school,” she said. “We attribute that to the lessons they learn from the program. We are breaking the cycle of poverty.” 

The current group was assigned to the Health Network’s Allentown, Anderson, Sacred Heart and Bethlehem campuses. They worked in departments including medical-surgical care, emergency room, pharmacy, laboratory, radiology and others. They started last December and finished June 19.   

The students gave presentations on what they learned and how the program impacted their lives. Montero said parents and staff members attended the presentations and staff members celebrated their achievements with cake and other party favors, which many may not get at home.  

‘This is a lifechanging opportunity for them,” says Montero. “We love to help them and witness their growth and development.”   

Recruitment for next year’s program will begin in July with fliers posted in places where potential participants often visit like bodegas and laundry mats, she said.