INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center would like to congratulate the Project SEARCH graduating class of 2015. Preston Hibbard, Anthony Sandland, Nicholas Leggett, Jacob Sampson & Austin Bryan were honored at a special ceremony on May 11th.
Project SEARCH is a program that provides young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the opportunity to learn transferrable job skills and then transition them to meaningful employment within the community. INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City started their Project SEARCH program in 2013. This is the third class to graduate from the program.
“We are very proud of our program, and our students,” says INTEGRIS’ Regional Director of Human Resources and Project SEARCH Business Liaison, Tera Latta. “The interns truly transform and become more confident and independent by the end of the school year. It’s also a rewarding experience for our employees to be able to mentor and work with the interns on a daily basis. We become very attached by the end of the school year and are sad to see them go, but at the same time, we feel very proud when we see their personal transformation and learn about the jobs they’ve earned following graduation.”
The interns follow the school calendar and participate in three non-paid, 10-week internship rotations at INTEGRIS. Interns are given support through on-the-job coaching and work site accommodations. They also attend class at INTEGRIS, for additional employability skills training such as interviewing, resume writing, hygiene, nutrition, personal finance, communication, etc.
The program is a partnership between INTEGRIS, Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Canadian Valley Technology Center, Dale Rogers Training Center, The Department of Rehabilitation Services, and The University of Oklahoma’s National Center for Disability Education and Training.
INTEGRIS Bass Baptist Health Center in Enid has also hosted a successful Project SEARCH program since 2010, and INTEGRIS Canadian Valley in Yukon, also graduated its first class of Project SEARCH interns this month.
For more information about Project SEARCH, please visit: www.projectsearch.us, or contact Judi Goldston, Project SEARCH Statewide Coordinator, at 405-325-0448.
