Project Search helps disabled

Betty Archer Allen/Gulf Breeze News Baptist Hospital Administrator Mark Faulkner (second from right) visits with Project Search students (from left) Jared Morgan, Laurence Jones and Thomas Anderson.

Lakeview Center launched a program that will allow students with disabilities to gain real-world work experience as they begin the transition from high school to competitive employment.

Project Search of Lakeview Center is a one-year program for students who are in their last year of high school. The program is based on a plan from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Project Search brings students into health care institutions or business settings where they learn skills necessary for employment while participating in three-to-four worksite rotations throughout the school year. The idea to bring Project Search to Pensacola originated with two Lakeview Center employees: Tonya Lloyd, director of the Special Populations Network, and Lisa Bloodworth, a manager with Southeastern Vocational Services. They serve as co-directors for the program. Carie Chapman, corporate recruitment manager for Baptist Health Care, is the business liaison for Baptist Hospital. The program is located at Baptist Hospital, where the students will receive both classroom instruction and opportunities to work in various settings, including clinical areas such as respiratory therapy, radiology and the emergency room settings. The goal is not only to prepare the students for employment, but also to create job opportunities for them.

On Oct. 24, Project Search began with a special presentation and reception for the students and their parents or guardians. The event allowed them to meet with the program's teacher and job coaches as well as managers from the various departments where the students will work as unpaid interns.

Atypical school day includes classroom instruction on employability skills, participation at one or more worksite rotations, lunching with peers and getting feedback from the teacher. The rotations compliment each student's interests, skills and strengths. Individualized job development and placement begins after the rotations are completed. Students are given support through on-the-job coaching and worksite accommodations with the ultimate goal of independence.

Students who applied to the program met specific requirements. Selection was made by a committee composed of representatives from the Escambia County School District, Baptist Hospital, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Vocational Rehabilitation and Lakeview Center. The selection committee also included one parent of a disabled student. The first class had 12 students. The students' first day at Baptist Hospital was Oct. 29. For more information about Project Search, call 850-469-3508.