Recently Area Health Education Center of Southwest Oregon (AHECSW) selected three outstanding students from Douglas County to travel to Salem, OR to talk to Representatives and Senators about their experiences in the AHECSW programs. The students that were selected were able to join students from all over the state from other Oregon AHECs that were also there to share their experiences and show their appreciation for the support that AHECs receive from the state. 

The students selected this year were participants in the Bright Works Oregon High School Healthcare Internship Program and also served as leaders on other AHECSW program projects. Congratulations to: Benjamyn Seamans, Grade 12, Umpqua Valley Christian School, Quinlan Morrow, Grade 12, Roseburg High School, and Synthany Woodley, Grade 12, Glendale High School! You did a wonderful job sharing our story and your personal experience. 

AHECSW held Diagnosis Day- Trauma Day 2015 at Mercy Medical Center on April 11, 2015. This was a Douglas County STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics) hub activity supported by the Douglas County Partners for Student Success (visit www.dcpss.org to learn more about other STEAM activities). Twenty-eight (28) students attended with representation from Camas Valley Charter School, Douglas High School, Glide High School, North Douglas High School, Oakland High School, Roseburg High School, and Umpqua Valley Christian School. With presentations from  ten (10) local healthcare professionals that volunteered their time to educate students on healthcare careers. We also had support from five (5) nursing students from Umpqua Community College and one (1) pre-med student, a recent graduate from Oregon State University, that came to mentor and support our youth and discuss their college experience. 

Students arrived on the scene! They found their accident victim (actor) and had guidance from Fire District 2 paramedics, Richard Lounsbury and Nolan McGinnis, and REACH flight paramedic, Keith Neff. 

Then our students were taken through the Emergency Department at Mercy Medical Center with Dr. Jennifer Bodenhamer, DO (Doctor of Osteopathy) and Sarah Malhberg, RN (Registered Nurse), where they discussed what would happen to the patient upon arrival and what the potential injuries and treatment would be. 

Next students were able to get behind the scenes in Mercy Medical Center's Operating Rooms and gain hands-on experience suturing pigs feet with the guidance of Dr. Heidi Beery, MD (Medical Doctor) and Morgan Petersen, FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner) from Evergreen Family Medicine. 

Then students ventured up to the lab at Mercy Medical Center and worked with Jacque Jones, MT (Medical Technologist) and Jean Walker from the Lane County Blood Bank to learn about how to type their blood and the importance of donating blood. 

The day wrapped up with a phenomenal presentation from Dr. Claire Stone, MD (Medical Doctor) from Mercy's lab presenting information on the requirements for schooling, a final panel with all of our professionals answering student questions, and all of the pre-health professional students discussing what going through school was like for them and what they wish they had known before entering their pre-health professional programs. 

We would like to thank everyone that was involved in making this day such a wonderful success. We had a dedicated planning committee, excellent healthcare professionals volunteering, wonderful community support, support from our local schools and educators, and support from the students in our program that also gave some time to volunteer for the event. 

We would like to acknowledge the following organizations and businesses for their support: 

Mercy Medical Center

Fire District 2

Evergreen Family Medicine

REACH Air Medical

Douglas County Partners for Student Success and the Umpqua Valley Regional STEAM hub

Crystal Creek Meats

Umpqua Community College's Nursing Program

Bright Works Oregon Healthcare Team

Healthcare Professionals: 

Heidi Beery, MD

Jennifer Bodenhamer, DO

Claire Stone, MD

Morgan Petersen, NP

Sarah Mahlberg, RN

Keith Neff, Flight Paramedic

Richard Lounsbury, Paramedic 

Nolan McGinnis, Paramedic

Jacque Jones, MT

Jean Walker, Lane County Blood Bank

Pre-Health Professional Students:

Natasha Kress

Sierra Smith

Hannah Harris

Keeley Hackett

Kayla Winston

Student Leaders and Actors:

Alyssa Longoria

Ben Seamans

Bodhi Looney

Christine Pons

Dylan Smith

Eli Cox

James Gugel

Maggie Cortez

Quinlan Morrow

Diagnosis Day Planning Committee Members:

Heidi Beery, MD, Evergreen Family Medicine

Ana Brar, Mercy Pharmacy Tech

Randy Chase, Community Volunteer/Retired Teacher

AJ Chitwood, Mercy Security

Michelle Kronner, Mercy Volunteer Director

Jennifer Ranger, Mercy Volunteer Department Assistant

Keith Neff, REACH flight paramedic

Lesa-Beth Titus, RN, Mercy Emergency Department

Katrina Sansom, Mercy Medical Center Billing

Rose Zoellner, AHECSW Program Director

AHECSW appreciates you!

During the last eight weeks, I had the opportunity to intern in Mercy’s emergency room. Each day, I headed to the ER happily anticipating what was to come. I was never disappointed. I was always treated with respect by the patients and staff, and I always had a good time. There was always something new for me to learn, something new for me to see. None of my questions went unanswered and each of the staff I worked with was eager to share their experiences with me.              

This fall I took Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center's (NEOAHEC) Future Health Professionals of Oregon (FHPO) college level class offered through Eastern Oregon University and AHECSW.  One of the class assignments was to do a job shadow for 12 hours in the career field of my choice.   I started by spending an entire day job shadowing Scott McEachern, the Executive Director of The Southern Coos Health Foundation.   He did a great job in explaining about his role between the hospital and the Foundation and then was able to take me to several meetings that he had scheduled for the day so that I could really get an idea of what his job entailed.  We first met with the CFO of Southern Coos Hospital who also oversees the Foundation’s finances.  The second meeting I got to sit in on was the leadership team meeting where the entire team gets together to discuss new things that are going on in their departments.  For the afternoon, I got to help research grants for the Foundation.  I learned that the main role of the Foundation was to bring money to the hospital, so grants are very important to them.  The next time I job shadowed, I was able to shadow most of the other hospital directors to better understand the differences of each position.  I found out that the Director of Nursing Services takes care of the nurses in the hospital, the Chief Financial Officer handles all of the money and works close with all of the accountants that work with the hospital, and that the CEO handles all personnel not in scrubs, as well as the hospital in general.  Mainly I learned that although each job is completely different from each other, they all come together to keep the hospital working efficiently.  An important thing that I learned from my time was that the healthcare is one of the best fields that anyone can go into since medical care is such a major part of everyone’s life.  There are so many job options to go into that you can easily do what you are passionate about, but that at the end of the day, everyone you work with has the same goal: to help everyone that comes into the hospital. 

For me personally, shadowing the different directors not only helped to shape my career goal, but also showed me many different paths available to me within my dream job of becoming a hospital CEO.  For example, the Director of Operations is currently in school, working her way to trying to become the CEO in the future and is able to fill in for the CEO when he is out.  I also learned that some of the other directors had worked as nurses before becoming part of the leadership team.  Learning that there are multiple paths to becoming the CEO was possibly the most important thing that I learned while shadowing. 

I also learned that there are several pros and cons of working in a rural vs. urban setting.  Getting to see firsthand how a rural hospital runs by not only getting to shadow but also growing up in a rural setting, I have decided that working in a rural hospital is at the top of my career goals.  I would love to someday be able to come back to Bandon and become the CEO of the hospital here.  I am very excited to see how well I succeed in this goal.  I really feel like job shadowing has opened my eyes and mind about the health care field and the many different job opportunities it has for me.         

New learning opportunities have been happening for Coos County students in the form of monthly meetings for the teen volunteers at Bay Area Hospital and in the Bandon area and they are quickly becoming a huge hit with great attendance, although one student from the first meeting decided that "we need to get a lot more people involved!!”

In November, students attended a meeting at Bandon High School where they learned about the Medical Imaging Department and different imaging specialties at Southern Coos Hospital and Health Center from Imaging Manager Bill Taylor, R.T. (R) ARRT. They also participated in an activity that helped them learn about lung capacity and things that might impede it, as well as learned about some of the different programs and possibilities offered in the area. One student commented that the meeting “was very well put together, on time, and fun.”

January saw more student volunteers at Bay Area Hospital learning about keeping healthy with germ warfare and identifying different HIPPA violations. With heart health month coming up in February, students were introduced to Dr. Seth Giri, of the Cardiology Department at Bay Area Hospital, who shared a wealth of information not only about heart health, but also about his path to becoming a Cardiologist and some of his other accomplishments. Marshfield Student Brett Wyatt described the presentation as “thoughtful and very intriguing, insightful and complete…kinda touched upon some areas that you usually don’t get to hear from a doctor.”

Jennifer Carpenter is a PeaceHealth Teen Volunteer in Lane County. She has been volunteering since July 2014 and has already accumulated over 131 Volunteer Hours. Jennifer or "Ginny" as we affectionately call her, is an outstanding Teen Volunteer.  She volunteers 3 days a week in Materials Management making hospital deliveries, sorting and delivering mail and assisting with general clean up and organization of the department. Jill Day, Teen Volunteer Coordinator, shared this about Jennifer's outstanding performance, "Ginny has a positive attitude, is always smiling and friendly and ready to take on any task she is given. Ginny has been invaluable as a new Teen Volunteer trainer. I can ALWAYS count on her to help to orient new Teens assigned to the unit." 

When reflecting on her time volunteering with PeaceHealth, Jennifer shared that she really enjoys the opportunity to help and the influence it makes on her life. She also loves the people she volunteers with. Jennifer shared, "Everyone in Materials Management is full of great personalities. My Supervisor Brandi has made such an impact on me! She is always there for me, she is honest and kind-hearted. I could not ask for a better person to be my Supervisor."

When asked where Jennifer sees herself in the future, she said, "Graduating High School and going to medical school to become a Cardiovascular Surgeon." AHECSW is proud to recognize the wonderful students in our region providing important volunteer services in the healthcare field. We would like to commend Jennifer on making positive connections with her local healthcare professionals early on and gaining valuable experience now to help support her as she works towards pursuing a healthcare career. We can't wait to hear more about what Jennifer does in the future!

 

For the first term of my internship, I am interning at Mercy Institute of Rehabilitation (MIR) and Dr. Randol's office. As an intern at MIR, I shadow physical therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) for two days on the ten week term. I follow around the therapists with their patients and am encouraged to ask questions, and I am occasionally given tasks such as grabbing something or wiping down equipment. During my time at MIR, I have learned about the educational requirements of being a PT and OT, the day-to-day operations of the therapists and the rehabilitation center as a whole, the diagnoses of patients, and patient treatment plans. The more common diagnoses I have worked with are back, shoulder, and knee pain, replacement surgeries (knee, shoulder, and hip), and side effects of arthritis.

My first day at MIR had me immediately working, and by the next week I had seen a fairly rare case and the electric stimulation treatment that came with it. That case was one of the most interesting that I have experienced in the internship. The PT even used the piece of equipment that delivers the shock on me. It was fascinating to see how technology, physics, chemistry, and anatomy all work together to treat patients. After interning here for six weeks, I have often worked with repeat patients. This is one of my favorite things about therapy! I love being able to watch people visibly improve and be able to know the patients beyond their injuries.

Though it is very different from MIR, I also am interning at Dr. Randol's dental practice this term. I work there one day a week for eight weeks, but in that short amount of time I have seen a wide variety of diagnoses. Every time I am at Dr. Randol's office I always see something new and exciting. The first Thursday there was extremely busy, and I was able to watch Dr. Randol fill about three cavities, watch an impression, see patients with complications, and observe as Dr. Randol had usual check-ups. Since then, I have seen crowns, a root canal, more fillings, deep cleanings, gum readings, typical cleanings, and a denture implantation. Here, I often shadow Dr. Randol, but I have also worked with the dental hygienists and dental assistants.

At both of my sites, I love the work environment. All of the employees are easy to work with, there are no conflicts, and MIR's and Dr. Randol's employees are so closely knit that they seem like families. Both sites are very willing and excited to answer all of my questions, and they explain their actions and treatment plans so that I can completely understand. I greatly appreciate everyone at MIR and Dr. Randol's office for being so helpful and willing to have me there! I can't wait to continue interning at my sites and for my future sites!

~ Quinlan Morrow, Grade 12, Roseburg High School