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on 4/29/2024
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Being supported by the Future Ready Iowa’s Summer Youth Internship Program, the local hospital received $30,560.
Karsen Schoenfeld, who worked as a clinical care intern in surgery last summer for St. Anthony Regional Hospital.
Hallie Golay, the Training and Development Specialist for St. Anthony Regional Hospital, said the education team applied for the grant in February.
Two years ago, she said they applied for the grant while initiating their summer youth intern program. During their first year, Golay said they had a group of 10 interns.
“We had a lot of success with that and we were really trying to find our way that year because it was the first time that St. Anthony had done something like that type of program in many years,” Golay said. “But we were able to give people good experiences and also, St. Anthony staff had good reviews for the program in terms of the work that interns are able to provide.”
Last year, Golay said they applied again, but did not receive the funds. However, she said they were still able to support the program last summer through the St. Anthony Foundation.
Aubrie Snyder, who worked as a clinical care intern in OB last summer for St. Anthony Regional Hospital.
For this upcoming summer, Golay said around $29,000 will be used for participant wages, with the remainder used for supplies. For the upcoming summer, she said she anticipates the number of interns will be in the, “20 range.”
On Thursday, April 11, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced a total of $321,080 was distributed to help jump start six projects in Iowa.
“I’m proud that, with a steady stream of summer internship grants, Iowa has continued to support the employers who empower Iowa’s youth,” Reynolds said in a news release. “Work-based learning is vital both for Iowa’s youth and for its businesses. Summer internships give youth the chance to experience what a job is like, and it gives employers an essential opportunity to build connections with the people they may want to employ full-time one day.”
Katie Towers, Director of Education Services for St. Anthony Regional Hospital, also said their first year with the program was a huge success.
“The reviews that we got the first year were so positive, not only from the students, but from their families,” Towers said. “It’s important that students have an opportunity to explore careers so that they can find the right fit, because it’s expensive for them to go down that college path and it’s also expensive for employers if they don’t have the right fit.”
Golay said the clinical care interns are placed in patient care units. Having two types of clinical care internships — one requiring a CNA license and the other not requiring one — the interns work in a care team by delivering patient care, providing assistance to clinical staff and completing various duties.
They will also have a few nurse interns who would have already completed a year of nursing school and function in a higher capacity over CNAs. The nurse interns will have an opportunity to relate theories and concepts learned in nursing school to practice.
Additionally, they will also bring in business administration interns, who will learn about the hospital administration and the revenue cycle.
The program runs for six weeks through June and July, with interns working between 10 and 30 hours a week.
Another large benefit of the program, Towers said, is several of the interns maintain the work role after their internship.
“We had a fair number of students that had achieved their CNAs and continue to work since that first experience,” Towers said. “That was important to us, there was a real benefit to them. They’re not just volunteering their time, they are actually earning a wage and really experiencing healthcare firsthand, so I think that’s one of the greatest benefits.”
Applications for internships were available on St. Anthony’s website under the ‘Join Our Team’ tab.
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