Teens volunteer at Gulf Breeze Hospital
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Franklin Hayes/Gulf Breeze News Eric Branco, an upcoming sophomore at Pensacola High School, is one of eight teenagers volunteering at Gulf Breeze Hospital.

To most teenagers, summer vacation means hanging out with friends, going to the beach and spending copious amounts of time in front of the television. However, this summer a select group of eight teens from area high schools, including Gulf Breeze High School (GBHS), spent their time lending a helping hand at Gulf Breeze Hospital.

"I want to do something in medicine, I'd like to be a doctor," said 17-year-old GBHS student David Ullman, who has been volunteering in the emergency room (ER) with his twin brother, Michael.

Instead of being involved in typical summer activities like fishing or being lethargic, the brothers work on different days to gain greater understanding of the inner workings of medicine by changing linens and observing ER doctors in action.

"It's not like what you see on TV; [volunteering] shows you what it's really like," Ullman said, adding: "It's really been about the difference between a fulfilling job versus an unfulfilling job. You actually get to help people and see how thankful they are."

Upcoming Pensacola High School sophomore Eric Branco is volunteering in the radiology department and said he thought volunteering would "be nice instead of sitting around doing nothing. I've learned [the hospital] is not just about nurses and doctors, it takes all kinds of people to make it run."

Branco also said volunteering in radiology may have sparked a new career interest for him. "I used to want to be a cardiologist like my dad, but after seeing this I've developed an interest for it."

Because the teenage volunteers are not medically trained, they are not allowed to administer any aid. However, they are required to fulfill certain criteria requested by the hospital. Applicants must complete a medical screening, sign a confidentiality agreement, undergo a criminal background check, receive parental permission and must be recommended by school officials.

This is the first year Gulf Breeze Hospital has used teen volunteers, and administrators are pleased with the results.

"We're trying to introduce young people to the opportunity for service and employment with the hospital. It's more about them than us. We want to build the workforce for tomorrow and we are very glad they're here. They are very well behaved and very professional young adults. We're very happy to engage the youth in the peninsula with this mentoring opportunity," said hospital administrator Dr. Robert Harriman.

Hospital officials are also working in conjunction with GBHS to create a teenage volunteer program that runs throughout the school year and allows students to earn high school credit.

"This is a really neat group and next year we hope to have twice as many. Teen volunteer program may turn into a program that allows high school students to earn high school credit while they volunteer," said hospital administrative associate Julie Johnson.

"We still have to get criteria from the school to see what they need from us for students to get class credit," Johnson said.

GBHS gifted studies instructor Dr. Bobbie Chapin said students volunteering through her program will be required to keep a log consisting of times and dates of work and the types of incidents they encounter. Gifted studies students will earn the equivalent of one high school credit for four weekly volunteer hours during the school year, and additional hours may count as community service.

"For the most part what they are going to gain is a gut feeling that [medicine] is really what they want to go into. It's better for them to start thinking about it in high school so they can decide if they really want to invest their time pursuing it. The internship will give them an overview of what the profession requires," Chapin said.