Ashtabula County Medical Center | ACMC Pulse | Winter 2018

ACMC Pulse  • acmchealth.org 13 TEN STUDENTS representing five high schools spent part of their summer learning about careers in healthcare at ACMC Academy. ACMC Academy Ashtabula County Medical Center started ACMC Academy in 2008 as a way to give high school students an opportunity to work side by side with clinical professionals to get hands-on training for the jobs. In most cases, ACMC Academy students have gone on to careers in the medical field. The 2018 graduating class of ACMC Academy featured Ashtabula County Technical and Career Campus’ Xiao Lin and Hannah Longstreet; Edgewood High School’s Adrianna Anderson; Geneva High School’s Kaitlyn Carson, April Hanchosky and Jordan Vencill; Jefferson Area High School’s Sarah DeGeorge and Renee Justice; and St. John School’s Katie Parise and Dana Sackett. Michael Habowski, ACMC Health System President and CEO, praised the students for their time learning about the healthcare field at ACMC. “This valuable program not only means a lot to the students, but to our caregivers as well. They look forward to working with students each year, and the youthful excitement the students bring to the job reminds our caregivers why they chose a career in healthcare.” Valuable training and interaction Each student spent an average of 24 hours per week across various departments in the hospital. Lunches were spent learning about other areas of healthcare, including information technology, health information services, engineering and other support services within the hospital. Students also spent time in the hospital’s nursing units, physician offices and other departments interacting with caregivers and patients. They were also able to watch procedures, including a cesarean section, cardiac catheterization, gallbladder removal, physical and speech therapy, and patient care in the Emergency Department. This year students also took a special field trip to Kent ACMC recently honored the 10 area high school students who successfully completed the 2018 ACMC Academy. Attending the special ACMC Academy Commencement were (from left, front): Kaitlyn Carson, Katie Parise, Dana Sackett, Adriana Anderson, Renee Justice, Hannah Longstreet, ACMC President and CEO Michael Habowski; (back) Jordan Vencill, April Hanchosky, Xiao Lin, ACMC Foundation Executive Director Tami Netkowicz, Sarah DeGeorge, and ACMC Human Resources Director Jonathan Forbes. Community ACMC ACADEMY Students exploring medicine State University–Ashtabula to explore its labs and simulation equipment. In addition to the career experience gained through ACMC Academy, each student received a $500 scholarship, and Justice and Vencill were each awarded additional $1,000 scholarships. Justice said, “I want to go into healthcare because I want to help people and I want to give the same excellent care back that was given to me.” Vencill said she was inspired to go into healthcare because of family. “As a young girl, I watched my aunt, who was a nurse, take such pride in the job she was doing every day,” she said. “I love caring for people in general and believe that healthcare would be a great field of work.” Making the ACMC Academy possible ACMC Academy is funded through the generous support of the ACMC Foundation. Each year donations to the Foundation specifically for ACMC Academy are considered a sound investment in the future of healthcare. Tami Netkowicz, CFRE, ACMC Foundation Executive Director, congratulated each student for their passion and professionalism throughout the eight-week program. “Each student has demonstrated a special drive to help and care for others, and we have no doubt their futures will be marked with success, and more importantly, with fulfillment.” ACMC will begin seeking the next class for the 2019 ACMC Academy early next year.