School might be out for the summer, but the learning isn’t over for a group of 19 local high school students participating in St. Tammany Health System’s Health Tech Connect Camp, a weeklong program designed to give them a taste of working in the healthcare industry.
Conducted in partnership with the Southeastern Louisiana University School of Nursing and powered by a grant from CLECO, the camp ran from June 9 to 14 at the St. Tammany Academic Center in Covington, which in addition to classroom space is outfitted with mock hospital rooms complete with beds and other specialized equipment. There, camp participants were introduced over the course of the week to potential careers in healthcare through hands-on training, expert guidance and behind-the-scenes insights.
If there was one key takeaway for campers, it was that there’s a job for almost anyone in healthcare, from front-line caregivers to roles in finance, pharmacy, food service, laboratory services, radiology, communications, security, technology, philanthropy, environmental services, construction and on and on.
“I hope that’s what you see this week,” St. Tammany Health System Chief Nursing Officer Kerry Milton said in welcoming students on the program’s first day. “There are a lot of options for you in healthcare.”
Indeed, by the time the camp wrapped up, a number of campers – representing schools including Mandeville High, Covington High, Fontainbleau, St. Paul’s, Archbishop Hannan, St. Scholastica and Mount Carmel – said they were impressed by the variety of career paths available at St. Tammany.
Also singled out by students were the hands-on learning opportunities, including how to collect and record a patient’s vital signs, how to administer CPR and how to start an IV drip; as well as a tour of the health system’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital and a tour of the SLU campus in Hammond.
“I cannot pick a favorite thing,” one student said during closing ceremonies on the last day of camp. “But it definitely sealed the deal on SLU for me.”
In what appeared to be a universal sentiment, another added: “I’m very happy I got the opportunity to do this.”
Plans are underway to offer the camp again next summer. Watch the news feed
at StTammany.health or follow the health system’s social media channels for more information as it becomes available.