Boston youth, residents and employees:
key to the health care pipeline
Children's Hospital Boston feels an important responsibility to ensure a diverse and committed health care workforce now and into the future. Through various initiatives, Children's supports: Boston youth who want to explore health care as a profession; Boston residents who want to seek employment at Children's or pursue a career in the field; and Boston employees who want to advance in their career at the hospital.
Eva Gomez, RN, MSN, CPN, Children's staff development specialist (middle) coordinates the SCOOP program. Last summer, 15 students participated in SCOOP. Seven students were from Boston.
Encouraging Boston youth • Children's COACH Program (Community Opportunities Advancement at Children's Hospital) provides full-time paid summer jobs to Boston high school students. The students are exposed to health care careers and receive job and life-skills training through workshops on topics such as business etiquette, communication and financial matters. This summer, students will be matched for the first time with a mentor, a previous COACH participant now in college. Since 2007, Children's has hired a total of 231 students.
• The Student Career Opportunity Outreach Program (SCOOP) reaches out to high school and college students to inspire them to pursue a career in nursing by exposing them to health care through clinical placements inside the hospital. Children's nurses also reach out to students from the Boston area by participating in educational panels and inviting students to tour inpatient units.
• In partnership with Sociedad Latina, a youth serving organization in Mission Hill, Children's provides students with after-school jobs. Children's was able to hire 5 youth to work in various clinical departments across the hospital during the school year.
More than $300,000 was spent last year helping Boston employees with tuition assistance and scholarships to advance their careers.
Helping Boston residents • Year Up is an intensive program for Boston adults which provides them with technical and professional skills, college credits and paid jobs. Since 2004, Children's has had 50 Boston residents participate in Year Up internships and has hired 21 of them as full time employees following an internship.
• Fenway Community Development Corporation (CDC) "Walk to Work" Program helps Fenway and Boston residents find positions near their homes. Children's has partnered with the CDC, YMCA International and Training, Inc. to help residents find employment in health care.
Advancing the careers of Boston employees • Through the Nursing Career Lattice Program, diverse clinical assistants, administrative staff and other hospital employees can pursue a career in nursing. Children's provides participants with academic counseling, mentoring and financial support to achieve their goals. One third of program participants are Boston residents.
A third of Children's employees are Boston residents
•Jewish Vocational Services (JVS) Health Care Training Institute, funded by SkillWorks, partners with Children's to provide ESOL and citizenship classes, a Central Processing certification program as well as pre-college preparations and study skills for employees interested in pursuing a career in allied health and nursing. Currently, 42 employees are pursuing various degrees through this Bridge to College program; of which, 60% are Boston residents. Participants who want to pursue a career in nursing have the added benefit of applying to the Nursing Career Lattice Program (see above). Children's was recently recognized by JVS as the 2011 Employer Partner of the Year.
