Montage Health Foundation cultivates future healthcare professionals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Montage Health Foundation's Healthcare Careers Academy offers local teens volunteer opportunities and hands-on learning from local healthcare professionals
MONTEREY, CA. — A new program is encouraging Monterey County teens to explore healthcare careers through volunteering and hands-on learning opportunities. The Healthcare Careers Academy combines volunteer work with training and experience in different areas of the healthcare industry.
The program is funded and operated by Montage Health Foundation and is completely free for participants. The goal is to inspire youth to work in healthcare, prepare them for those careers, help them get an education, and ultimately have them return to the community as healthcare professionals.
“We are really inspiring our own through this program,” said Michele Melicia Young, Director, Montage Health Foundation. “We are investing in these youth and their futures, which will in turn be massively beneficial to our Monterey County healthcare industry down the road.”
The teen volunteers in the academy commit to a minimum of one 2.5-hour volunteer shift per week, plus recurring sessions where they hear from industry professionals including doctors, therapists, and administrators. They receive in-person training, gaining experience in different Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula departments including the Comprehensive Cancer Center, Radiology, and Laboratory Services. Collectively, the cohort has served more than 3,000 volunteer hours since the program launched in September.
Getting these youth into college-level healthcare programs is one of the main goals of the academy. High school seniors who reach 100 volunteer hours for the year are automatically eligible for a scholarship from Montage Health Foundation Auxiliary. This year, three seniors hit that benchmark and will be awarded a scholarship for their college freshman year.
“After college, I want to come back here to the hospital,” said 15-year-old Salinas High School freshman and academy service learner Tatiana Jauregui. “I want to come back to the Monterey area and work here because I really do love the community. I really do love the people and the patients and the staff and just everything about it.”
The academy will hold an open house on May 2, 2023, from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Community Hospital for students interested in participating in the summer intensive program. Interested students and their parents are welcome to attend — no registration is required. Students must be at least 14 years old, in high school, and able to commit to at least one 2.5-hour volunteer shift per week.
“It has been an amazing experience getting to learn about not only the hospital and its people, but also about myself. It has been an amazing journey,” said Jauregui.
Those interested can apply at the open house or submit an application online. Applications are open now and must be submitted by May 5, 2023. Learn more and apply at the Montage Health website.
