Hospital Expands Pathway Program Within The Community
Many teens spend their summer break playing sports, enjoying time with friends or simply relaxing. However, 13 area high school students decided to participate in Columbus Community Hospital's Health Science Pathway program during their time off of school.
This summer, the hospital offered an additional session of the program that prepares high school students for careers in health care. The summer class took place between May 30 and June 28 and covered the certified nursing assistant (CNA) portion of the pathway. Pathway instructors designed the summer course to closely resemble the class offered at Central Community College - meeting four days per week for a longer period each day. Students from both Columbus High School and Scotus Central Catholic joined together in a classroom at Columbus High School.
"It was great to be able to integrate the students from Scotus Central Catholic into the Health Science Pathway program," said Wendy Kallhoff, the Health Science Pathway instructor.
Each student who participated in the recent summer session received state certification and is now eligible to apply for jobs at local health care facilities.
Kallhoff said she is looking forward to growing the program with the start of the new school year.
Beginning this fall, Scotus Central Catholic will offer Health Science courses taught by science teacher Joan Lahm. Students who successfully pass the Health Science I course can enroll in the CNA portion of the pathway offered at Columbus High School during the summer months.
The program is also working on developing Health Science III for the upcoming school year, to add to the already-offered Health Science I and II and CNA classes. And with the addition of new Pathway instructors Tracy Long and Joan Lahm, Kallhoff said leaders can continue expanding the program and reaching more students within the community.
"The students we have had in this program so far have been outstanding," she said. "They are going to be great assets to our local health care community, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for each of them."
To learn more about the hospital's Health Science Pathway program, visit columbushosp.org.