August 20, 2004

Showcasing the MGH's commitment to Boston youth

The MGH Community Benefits SummerWorks program held its annual end-of-summer celebration Aug. 13, recognizing graduates, students and their supervisors for their participation.

The SummerWorks Program is a career exploration and summer employment initiative that offers graduating Timilty Middle School students paid part-time internships at the MGH. This year, 15 students worked in departments such as Police and Security, Information Systems and Human Resources. Three students were hired in labs as a continuation of the science enhancement program, MGH Science Connection, which is funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and now is in its 11th year. (Summerworks student, above, and MGH participants pictured at right.)

"It is so nice to take a moment to highlight the accomplishments of teens who participate in programs like the MGH SummerWorks program and their contributions to the community," says Dan Correia, program coordinator.

The MGH ProTech program held its graduation ceremony Aug. 11. ProTech is a two-year program for juniors and seniors enrolled in the Academy of Health and Human Services at East Boston High School. This integrated program combines classroom instruction, work-site rotations and employment-readiness workshops with a 20-month paid internship to introduce ProTech interns to the diverse range of career opportunities in health care. The ProTech program is now in its 13th year at the MGH. A total of 159 students from the Boston Public Schools System have successfully completed the program.

Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH, addressed the graduates, thanking the MGH staff who serve as supervisors, presenters, trainers, committee members and mentors. "This work is not possible without you," said Slavin.

The keynote speaker, Robert Lewis, Jr., a graduate of East Boston High School and president and executive director of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) for the Greater Boston region, encouraged the students to take advantage of every opportunity presented to them, including working at the MGH.
All nine ProTech graduates have been accepted to college, with four entering nursing programs. Six have secured permanent part-time positions at the MGH to help finance their college education, and three were recipients of MGH ProTech scholarships.

With the 2004 Summer Jobs for Youth campaign, the MGH pledged to hire 25 additional students. The MGH Community Benefits School Partnership staff worked with the City of Boston and the Boston Private Industry Council to achieve this goal.

"We are thankful that the MGH leadership recognizes the importance of and supports youth employment initiatives," says Candace Burns, director of the MGH School Partnership Programs. "These young people represent our future workforce, and this is yet another way we can assist in preparing them for work and life."
Preliminary figures estimate that the MGH hired 135 Boston youth this summer making the hospital the private employer with the second highest number of hires this summer.

For more information about these programs, call MGH Community Benefits at (617) 724-6424.

Slavin, far left, with this year's ProTech graduates.