Dozens of family members gathered at Aspirus Wausau Hospital (AWH) for a welcome party to introduce the first Project SEARCH interns to the hospital.

Eight students from local high schools will begin a 1-year program that will give them the skills to be competitive in the workforce.

 “Through our partnership with Project SEARCH, we will provide these students the opportunity to gain valuable work and social skills through department internships”, says Rhonda Kardos, the AWH Business Liaison with Project SEARCH.  “This is a transition-to-work program, with the goal for each student-intern to attain competitive employment within the community.” 

Project SEARCH started in 1996 at the Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center. The program aims to increase employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and advocate on behalf of their employment to other organizations. The program is now an internationally recognized employer driven model with over 500 sites in 45 states and nine countries.

Classes start September 4^th at AWH. The students will spend the first part of the day in the classroom then head out to their respective departments. They will have three 10-week rotations in different departments in the hospital ranging from data entry to food services.

“I’m really excited,” says Desirae Hoff, one of the students in the first class. “Once I got more information on the project, I realized this was something I really wanted to do. I really hope to stay in the Wausau area and work in the medical field.”

Overall, project administrators hope to continue the success the program has had in other sites across the country. Of the more than 3200 students who were enrolled during the 2016 – 2017 school year, 80% were employed at the end of the program.

For Desirae, this is another step in her independence.

“I want to learn new things and meet new people,” says Desirae. “But most of all, I’m just really excited to get started.”

For more information, visit aspirus.org.