Several interns smiled broadly as they played videos on iPads they made of their first 10-week rotation in one of a dozen hospital departments. Students then led tours of computer stations or supply areas where they had worked. They navigated the maze of hospital halls with ease.
Without hesitation, the eight student interns stood before a crowd and reported on their experiences, skills learned and goals to achieve at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital.
Ten young adults with special needs from the western suburbs are the inaugural class of Project Search in Illinois. The program was developed at a Cincinnati hospital to provide job training and placement tailored to students’ individual strengths and interests.
The unpaid interns clock in like regular hospital employees but spend part of the day in a classroom. They review workplace and job search skills they will need in May when the program ends and they will hunt for a job with pay.
The participants are in their final year of transitional service programs after finishing graduation requirements at area high schools. Students age 18 to age 22 are eligible for additional training for jobs and independent living.
Kelly Chlada, a Project Search instructor and special education teacher, said students like Mattie Kotlowitz already have made a lot of progress.
“When Mattie came, she was too shy to introduce herself at first,” Chlada said. “Now she’s very independent and confident. She works with a coworker, rather than somebody supervising her from the program.”
Kotlowitz from Oak Park attended Hinsdale South High School in Darien, which offers a regional specialized program for deaf and hear-impaired students. Interpreter Liz Miller splits her day at the hospital assisting Kotlowitz along with another student.
“It’s a lot of fun and rewarding to see their progress from the beginning of the year,” Miller said. “They can do things on their own and on a schedule.”
Kotlowitz said she worked in the environmental services department cleaning patient rooms for the first rotation. She learned which cleaning products were required for certain situations and sometimes had to wear scrubs, gloves and a mask, she said.
Clarissa Meneses of Countryside, who attended Lyons Township High School, said she enjoyed her rotation in the medical records department, where Kotlowitz is headed next.
“I would get big stacks of paper records from the ER Department. First, I would prepare them by removing staples or fixing any torn papers,” Meneses explained. “It kept me really busy.”
Brian Marino of Riverside worked in the patient registration department for his first rotation. He attended Riverside-Brookfield High School and math and English classes for three years at Triton Junior College.
“I learned about organizing files, counting money, labeling and data entry,” Marino said. “It was good.”
Marino’s supervisor, Clyde Emrick, manager of the registration and admissions department, said the program benefits more than the interns.
“It’s like adding another family member to our team, and it’s helped me as a manager,” Emrick said. It’s helped me find a better way communicate to staff, slowing down and giving more detail.”
Karen Steffan, vocation program coordinator for the La Grange Area Department of Special Education cooperative, said outreach efforts and the program’s early success have sparked five other Project Search sites to begin operating in the fall in northern Illinois.
LADSE and Helping Hand Rehabilitation Center are two organizations sponsoring Project Search, which has begun efforts to recruit 12 interns for next year at the La Grange hospital.
An informational meeting for families will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Helping Hand, 9649 W. 55th St., Countryside.
Project Search, also will hold an open house from 9 to 11 a.m. Jan. 9 at the hospital, 5101 S. Willow Springs Road. The event is intended to showcase the program to school districts and invite area business to assist with networking and job placement for interns.