invitation: Possibility becomes reality for Project SEARCH interns

You are invited!
Project SEARCH intern showcase

Possibility becomes reality when a school district and hospital collaborate to create a business-led, one-year, school-to-work program for students with disabilities.

Everyone is invited to discover how Project SEARCH is a positive impact in our community.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

Denali Room, Central Peninsula Hospital, Soldotna, Alaska

Families, local employers, educators, partner organizations, and the community are invited to:

Meet student interns who will showcase learning from their internship rotations
Talk with the teacher and job coach; meet the hospital job mentors
Light refreshments will be served

The Project SEARCH High School Transition Program is a total workplace immersion, facilitating classroom instruction, career exploration, and relevant job-skills training in strategically designed internships. Through targeted internship rotations, students acquire competitive, marketable, and transferable skills. Students also build communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills which is important to their overall development as a young worker. The goal: independent adults prepared for competitive employment opportunities.
Local employers of previous interns include: Safeway Bakery; Fred Meyer; Wal-Mart; Central Peninsula Hospital; Heritage Place; Blue Moose Bed and Biscuit; Charis Place Assisted Living; Walgreens; KPBSD.

Kenai Peninsula Project SEARCH is made possible through the collaborative efforts of Project SEARCH Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Central Peninsula Hospital, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Frontier Community Services, and the Kenai Job Center.
Questions? Contact: Cindy Worley, Project SEARCH Instructor, KPBSD and CPH, 907.513.9691

Project SEARCH grows skills for interns

Project SEARCH Intern Showcase

Bailey Holt; Annabel Mendoza; Skylair Childress; Jamie Topp; Ross Pilatti

Videos, posters, resumes and Project SEARCH interns combined to make a memorable evening on Monday, February 22, 2016. Guests perused booths staffed by Project SEARCH interns at Central Peninsula Hospital. Skills obtained while working alongside hospital mentors were highlighted by each KPBSD student intern. Poster boards created by students featured skills such as taking vitals, slicing and dicing with kitchen knives, reading gauges and gases, sanitizing beds, and scanning, faxing, copying. Individual posters showed snippets of interns in action.
Each intern prepared a video showcasing themselves in action, demonstrating skills learned on rotation. Everything from tightening a bolt with wrenches to analyzing and adjusting anesthesia billing sheets rolled across the screen. The event, attended by family, school district employees, hospital employees and the public provided a glimpse into the valuable job skills the interns are learning and their future plans of employment utilizing these skills.
Links

Story contributed by Cindy Worley, Project SEARCH teacher

Bailey Holt and Jeff Dolifka discuss Bailey’s rotations in Maintenance and Respiratory Therapy

Jamie Topp shared her skills from Laundry and Day Surgery

Ross Pilatti explains to Austin Hansen how the skills he learned in Materials Management and Patient Financial Services/HIM translate into possible future employment opportunities

Skylair Childress shared his passion of making pizzas and caused several attendees to express a sudden craving of pizza

Annabel Mendoza, answered questions about how she plans to use the CNA skills she is gaining both in her CNA class and Project SEARCH CNA shadow rotation on the Med Surg floor to assist her in obtaining employment as a CNA

News Release: Hospital Career Fair for KPBSD High School Students

Contact: Pegge Erkeneff, Communication Specialist
907-714-8838
News Release
Careers in the Health Sciences are in High Demand
Soldotna, February 12, 2015—High school students are invited to learn how to become part of the fastest growing career track in Alaska and the nation.

Hospital Career Fair

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

10:00-1:30 p.m.

Central Peninsula Hospital

Students will learn about careers in Therapeutic (Nurse, Counselor, etc.), Medical Information (Billing, Coding …), Diagnostic (Radiologist, Imaging …), and Environmental (Chef, Electrician …) fields.
During the 2014 Hospital Career Day, nearly 80 KPBSD high school students attended, and hospital employees shared their passion and commitment to their chosen occupations, providing students valuable tips about how to prepare for a career in a hospital setting.
To sign up for the 2015 Hospital Career Day or learn more, students can contact their high school counselor. This opportunity will not take place again until 2017. Lunch is provided and the event is sponsored by Central Peninsula Hospital, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, and the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Links
KPBSD Career and Technical department
KPBSD Career Clusters
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Central Peninsula Hospital receives KPBSD Golden Apple award

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District

Golden Apple Award | August 4, 2014
Central Peninsula Hospital, Community Partner

KPBSD recognizes the dedication and contribution Central Peninsula Hospital makes with their commitment and partnership as the host business for the Central Peninsula Project SEARCH program. Project SEARCH is an intensive internship program for eighteen to twenty-two year olds, with disabilities, to learn targeted job skills in order to successfully apply for and earn a job within the community. In order to be successful, the host business must understand the requirements of the program and the needs of the young adults. The hospital staff is not only understanding of these aspects, but they are dedicated to helping the interns to learn job skills. It all starts at the top with the directors of the departments taking a risk to have an intern work within their department. From there, the departments’ job mentors dedicate their time to ensuring success for all. In addition, every member of the hospital staff who interacts positively with interns and provides feedback to assist their learning is a part of their success.
Hospital staff who participate with the program, as a director or job mentor, have dedicated countless hours to these young adults. Not only are the job mentors performing the duties of their own jobs within the hospital, but they are essentially training a new employee three times a year, collaborating with KPBSD teaching staff, and mentoring young minds! The department directors and job mentors know and care for the interns by the end of their fully immersed ten week rotation. They are involved in the Open House at the beginning of the year, and the completion ceremony at the end of the year. They are with the interns every day helping them to become honest, hard-working citizens.
Evidence of the success of the hospital staff is the fact that for the past two school years the program has been in operation, 100% of interns successfully applied for and received positions within the community–two of whom have remained working for Central Peninsula Hospital! The hospital staff has consistently provided strong support, dedication, and contributions to the learning of KPBSD interns. Without their support, the central peninsula would not have a Project SEARCH program.
Specific members of the Central Peninsula Hospital staff who have taken these steps and risks with Project SEARCH include:

Mr. Rick Davis, CEO: Mr. Davis took the risk of starting this program and partnership.
Mr. John Dodd, Vice President of Human Resources has been an advisory committee member and part of the planning process for two years prior to the start of the program during the 2012-2013 school year. Mr. Dodd has provided guidance and structure for the committee and the interns.
Mr. Jim Childers, Business Liaison just completed his first year with Project SEARCH. His motivation, dedication and desire to help the interns is infectious! He is truly a valued member of the Project SEARCH team.
Craig Ashley, Patty Brantley, Shanda Hall, Sean Harris, Cindi Irwin, Jeff McGee, Shayne Pond, Kristie Sellers, and Alan Thye are the department directors who have dedicated staff within their departments to work with the interns. These directors know the time it takes to train an effective employee and have provided the resources for Project SEARCH.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education is proud to recognize Central Peninsula Hospital for their dedication to the students of the school district, past, present, and future.
Link: Golden Apple certificate

Opportunity knocks: high school students to attend Job and Career Fair in Kenai

Media Release
KPBSD juniors and seniors to attend career and job fair
Soldotna, March 17, 2014—The annual Peninsula Job and Career Fair, billed as the biggest recruitment event on the Kenai Peninsula, will be Wednesday, March 26, 2014, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at the Peninsula Job Center in Kenai, Alaska. KPBSD and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) will once again partner to deliver resume writing, interviewing, and work ethics training in preparation for this event.
Students from Kenai Alternative School, Kenai Central High School, Nikiski Middle-High School, Skyview High School, and Soldotna High School, will attend. More than sixty employers will be present to speak to job seekers about their current and future job openings. KPBSD students who plan to attend must sign-up through their school counselor, and bring several copies of their resume to provide to employers. Transportation is provided by KPBSD.
KPBSD is happy to once again be able to partner with the DOLWD,” said John O’Brien, director of secondary education and student activities. “Our students benefit from access to their professionals working together with our school counselors and career guides on resume writing, interviewing, and work ethics training skills. KPBSD juniors and seniors looking for either part time employment or something more, can benefit from attending the Peninsula Job and Career Fair, since it is the biggest recruitment event on the Peninsula.”
Employers include: AJEATT, Adult Learning Programs/MASST, Alaska Crane Consultants, Air National Guard, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Department of Corrections, Alaska Division of Forestry, Alyeska Pipeline, ASRC Energy, AVTEC, Beacon OHSS, Central Peninsula Hospital, Consumer Care Net, Copper River Seafood, Crowley Marine Services, ESS Service, Fred Meyer, Frontier Community Services, Gas Drive Global, Governor’s Council on Disabilities, Halliburton, Home Depot, Hope Community Resources, Inlet Fish, Kachemak Electric, KDLL Radio, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, Kenai Peninsula Care Center, Kenai Peninsula College, Key Bank, Kenaitze, Lee Shore Center, McDonalds, Nana Management, Northern Training Industrial, Offshore Systems, Pacific Star Seafood, Peak Oil Field Services, Peninsula Clarion, Peninsula Community Health Services, RESCARE, Safeway, Schlumberger, Snug Harbor, State of Alaska Juvenile Justice, Taco Bell, US Army, US Marines, US Navy, AK Army National Guard, Wal-Mart, and Wells Fargo.
“We are extremely pleased with the excitement students are expressing about attending the job fair and meeting with employers about current and future openings,” said Rachel O’Brien from the Peninsula Job Center. “School district personnel have been very instrumental and supportive of Department of Labor staff by allowing us to work with students during their class time and discuss resume writing, career exploration, interviewing skills and work ethics. Attending the job fair is an outstanding opportunity for students to speak directly to employers about short and long-term employment, learn about labor demands, and make local connections. The Peninsula Job Center wants to extend our sincere appreciation to KPBSD administration, principals, counselors and teachers of Skyview, Soldotna, Kenai, and Nikiski high schools for partnering with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development for the second year in a row to deliver this invaluable experience to local students.”
The Peninsula Job Fair is coordinated by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development with support from the Peninsula Clarion and alaskajobnet.com, the City of Soldotna, the City of Kenai, and the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers.
Contact for businesses: Rachel O’Brien, employment specialist, Peninsula Job Center, 907-335-3001
Contact for employers to sign up and have an informational or recruitment booth: Jackie Garcia, business connections specialist, Peninsula Job Center, 907-335-3030.
Media Release: Kenai Job Fair is March 26 2014
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Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
Contact: Pegge Erkeneff, 907.714.8888

Project SEARCH Open House

KPBSD NEWS RELEASE

Project SEARCH open house is November 27, 2012

Soldotna, November 15, 2012—Imagine what can happen if a school district and hospital collaborate to create a business-led, one-year, school-to-work program for students with disabilities that takes place entirely at the workplace…
Join KPBSD and Central Peninsula Hospital on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, for the first annual open house to introduce you to the new Project SEARCH High School Transition Program. Dr. Atwater, KPBSD superintendent said, “One of our on-going challenges is to ensure that our students with disabilities make a smooth transition to life after high school. Project SEARCH is thus, a wonderful way to help us meet this challenge. I am thrilled that our partnership with Central Peninsula Hospital is working so well for our students.”

Project SEARCH Open House

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Denali Room at Central Peninsula Hospital, Soldotna, Alaska

Families, educators, partner organizations, local businesses and
interested community members are invited

Meet student interns who will showcase their learning from their respective internship rotations. Ms. Erin Riehle, co-founder and senior director of Project SEARCH will be the guest speaker. Riehle is a recognized authority and national leader in promoting employment opportunities for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.
Rick Davis, Central Peninsula Hospital CEO said, “We are very pleased to participate as a business partner in the Project SEARCH program. These students are learning to perform basic job requirements such as coming to work on time, being neatly dressed, and coming to work with a positive attitude. The program is designed to help prepare these students to enter the job market as good employees that will add value to an organization in the future.”
The Project SEARCH High School Transition Program is a total workplace immersion, facilitating a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and relevant job-skills training through strategically designed internships. Through a series of three targeted internships the students acquire competitive, marketable, and transferable skills to enable them to apply for a related position. Students also build communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills which is important to their overall development as a young worker. The goal: independent adults prepared for competitive employment opportunities.
Kenai Peninsula Project SEARCH is made possible through the collaborative efforts of Project SEARCH Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Central Peninsula Hospital, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Frontier Community Services.

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You are invited! Project SEARCH intern showcase