Over the past ten years, the Project SEARCH internship program has expanded its reach throughout Licking Memorial Health Systems (LMHS).

Departments such as Culinary Services, Environmental Services, Maintenance and Engineering, and Purchasing have hosted interns since the very beginning. But it’s always exciting when the first intern gets to explore a new department or experience a new role.

When she started Project SEARCH in August, Utica High School student Saige Porter earned that opportunity. Working alongside an LMH staff member in the Environmental Services Department, she spent several months learning to clean occupied patient rooms, making her the first Project SEARCH intern to have that level of patient interaction.

Her hard work didn’t go unnoticed. Saige recently found out that she received a thank-you note from a patient who noticed her efforts and was recognized by LMH with a gift card.

Now interning in Cardiology, Saige, 18, is still learning the different tasks she’ll do in the department, including cleaning and preparing patient rooms. She’s also spending several days a week interning in the fiscal department where she’s been helping categorize paperwork and process payroll.

The diverse experiences she’s been having have helped her learn to be flexible, which will serve her well as she looks at options to study clinical psychology in college.

The ten students in this year’s Project SEARCH have a variety of future goals — from applying for a job at the hospital or finding work in the community to continuing their education — after their graduation from the program.

Established in Licking County in 2016, the program is a partnership between LMHS, the Licking County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, the Licking Regional Educational Service Center and Greenleaf Job Training Services. It offers young adults with disabilities the opportunity to spend an entire school year at the LMHS — rotating through three internships — gaining the training and soft skills they need to transition from school to adult life.

For Mya Prince, a student from Licking Valley High School, her two internship rotations have given her the opportunity to set goals and try new things outside her comfort zone. Currently in the Radiology Department, she’s mastered some of her cleaning tasks and is going to learn how to help transport patients.

Lance Welsh, also from Utica High School, started Project SEARCH interning in the Environmental Services Department and is now in Acute Rehab, helping with cleaning and administrative tasks.

He’s interested in working in the food service industry but is also taking an online course in voice acting.

While he’s gaining job skills at LMHS, he’s also been able to work on money management — budgeting his money for his favorite items in the Main Street Café at Licking Memorial Hospital.