Healthcare Jobs Available As Summer Employment For Students
In the summer of 2006, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa created an employment recruitment program for youth, asking private and public corporations and nonprofits in the area to commit to 10,000 summer jobs for young people.
“When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made his call to action, Kaiser Permanente enthusiastically answered,” said Vicki Bittle, Kaiser Permanente’s representative on the Los Angeles Workforce Investment Board. “Our program provides underserved high school students with supportive and meaningful employment experiences in the health care field. This community benefit program employs young people during the summer months throughout the organization.”
Kaiser Permanente’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) can be a young person’s foray into a meaningful healthcare job. Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s leading integrated health plans. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California.
“The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce applauds Kaiser Permanente for participating in the HIRE LA’s Youth program,” said Gary Toebben, president and CEO, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. “By providing youth with employment opportunities, Kaiser Permanente is helping to develop the 21st century workforce.”
The students gained experience in various departments in the hospital and accompanied nurses and physicians on their morning rounds. In addition to their work assignments, the youth participated in educational sessions and motivational workshops that introduced students to pursuing a career at Kaiser Permanente in addition to enhancing their job skills and work performance. Many former students are now employed with the organization as nurses, department administrators, lab technicians, opticians and engineers.
“Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center has been involved with the SYEP for nine years now, but this was our first year working with the HIRE LA’s Youth Program,” said Kathleen McIntire, who is both the medical center’s Director of Volunteer Services and the Kaiser Permanente L.A.U.N.C.H. On-Site Coordinator for the SYEP. “This was my first graduating class of summer youth and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of kids,” adds McIntire. “We continue to keep in touch and give them advice and guidance.”
To encourage the students to continue their path for higher education, five of the students received a $1,000 scholarship from Kaiser Permanente’s Los Angeles Medical Center.
The recipients met the following criteria: attendance, test scores, team participation, and final presentation score. Kaiser Permanente Southern California has pledged to hire 40 youth in 2009.
Print This Post