Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 12, 2005 Stephanie Olsen and Lindsay Jameson, both 14, stock linens in the intensive care unit at Providence Medford Medical Center. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Operation: Student Volunteers South Medford teens get a first-hand look at hospital jobs during Providence program By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Needles freak out Lindsay Jameson just a little, but the 14-year-old is still glad to volunteer at Providence Medford Medical Center. She and her friend Stephanie Olsen, both incoming freshmen at South Medford High School, joined Providence’s Junior Guild this summer to get a look at the hospital where their moms work. "This gives kids an opportunity to look at a medical career as well as gain basic job skills," said Debbie Albachten, Providence’s volunteer services coordinator, who rejuvenated the guild program for teens this year after it foundered for lack of a coordinator. This is the second group of teens to enter the program. Jameson, Olsen and 13 other teens started volunteering in June, after an orientation that included hepatitis B shots and tuberculosis tests — Jameson’s first round of needle worries. Now Jameson and Olsen volunteer two days a week in the hospital’s critical care unit, making coffee for waiting families, shredding unneeded medical documents, restocking linen cabinets and replenishing supply carts. Advertisement "There’s one drawer in the cart that has lots of needles, big ones, small ones," Jameson said with a shudder. Olsen handles that drawer, while Jameson loads up other supplies. Other teens in the program volunteer on nursing floors, in the hospital pharmacy, in the gift shop and at the adult day health center. "It’s fun and you can do something good for the community," Olsen said of her experience. Hospitals increasingly try to interest teens in medical careers through a variety of volunteer opportunities, said Michael Torguson, education coordinator for Asante Health System, which operates Rogue Valley Medical Center here and Three Rivers Hospital in Grants Pass. "Outreach is as much a part of our growth as building projects are," he said. Three Rivers Hospital has operated its youth volunteer program since 1996, said coordinator Linda Lamoreau. A former teacher drawn to nursing after her own serious bout with viral pneumonia, Lamoreau set up the program that draws teens from the area between Cave Junction and Phoenix. It accepts up to 45 students at a time and has a four-month waiting list, despite tough application standards, she said. Some kids stay with the program for years. Since the start of the program, 35 former volunteers have returned to the hospital as employees, and Lamoreau stays in touch with several who are in medical school now, hoping to lure them back eventually. "We grow our own," she said. "It’s great recruiting for the hospital." RVMC’s junior volunteer program has waxed and waned over the years, said Marsha Robertson, director of volunteer services. She and Torguson took on the junior volunteer program about two and a half years ago after previous coordinators left. During the past school year, 18 students volunteered. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Investments & Loans Advertisement s