June is graduation season, and Friday was no different.
Seven graduates participated in a ceremony Friday morning at Sentara Careplex Hospital in Hampton. The graduates had just completed their yearlong Project SEARCH program, which teaches work skills and other job-readiness mentoring to students with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The program began in Cincinnati more than 20 years ago, and now has sites all over the world. In Hampton Roads, that includes three Sentara hospitals.
The program is a partnership between a host business — in this case, Sentara — and school divisions, state agencies and others who prepare students for the workforce.
Savannah Daniels, 21, was one of the graduates Friday. The Newport News student said she enjoyed spending time with her friends during the program, and said she learned important skills, including the importance of being on time and following directions. Her father, Robert Daniels, said the program helped his daughter grow and become more social.
“It’s really opened her up,” Daniels said.
He said his daughter had been largely non-verbal for years, but “now she initiates conversations with us.”
Tammy Williams Hart’s daughter, 22-year-old Taylor Williams, is a Hampton student and a participant in Project SEARCH. Hart said parents of children with disabilities often hear from doctors, teachers and others that their children “cannot excel.”
“This particular program really pushed Taylor to do all the things we thought she couldn’t,” Hart said.
Students spend the year on-site at Sentara, attending about an hour of class with instructors who provide training in various skills, from how to wear a tie to how to ace a job interview. Then, the remainder of the day is spent working in one of Sentara’s departments. Among the departments where interns are placed are food services, supply chain, health information management, imaging and others. They do everything from washing dishes in the cafeteria to restocking gloves and gowns to greeting patients. Students spend 10-week cycles in three different departments.
Steven Bond, Sentara’s business liaison for the program, said part of the hospital’s role is to provide the job site and the opportunity for students to learn traditional labor skills, such as clocking in and out, transitioning between tasks and calling in sick when they have to miss a day.
“It’s kind of like a habitual learning experience,” Bond said.
Additionally, the program teaches participants social skills that are needed in the workplace, such as how to operate as a member of a team.
In addition to the seven students who graduated Friday, 14 students graduated from the program at two other Sentara sites on Thursday. At Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, 10 students went through the program this year. Four participated at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center.
The partnership began in 2008, with Sentara’s Hampton site being the first to participate. In addition to the school divisions, the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services is also involved with the program. The department contracts with The Choice Group, an employment agency that helps the program participants find work after graduation.
Ali Dodd, a vocational counselor with The Choice Group, said part of her role is helping select students for the program and then conducting assessments to determine their best placement within the hospital.
Then, once a program participant finds a job after graduation, Dodd helps them learn their duties and figure out ways to problem solve. Additionally, she advocates on their behalf if they are having trouble with a manager or coworker.
Dodd noted that two of the program alumni who spoke during the graduation ceremony had been employed with Sentara for four years.
“They’ve found longevity, they’ve found careers.”
Nour Habib, [email protected]
