Every day, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett (PRMCE) caregiver Mary Pham walks through the hospital doors with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. As she navigates the bustling corridors, she greets her colleagues with warmth and enthusiasm, ready to take on the day's challenges. Despite challenges Mary faced due to her disability, her employment journey was eased by ProjectSEARCH, a program offered through the Everett School District in partnership with PRMCE.
ProjectSEARCH is an international nonprofit creating partnerships between school districts, local businesses, and community support systems to prepare young adults with disabilities for competitive, paid employment. The program focuses on serving young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who can benefit from personalized support during an intensive academic year of career development and internship experience.
The program provides a comprehensive nine-month internship experience, where participants work alongside PRMCE staff in various departments in the hospital. This immersive experience helps interns gain valuable work experience, confidence, maturity, communication skills, and employable skills.
"Disability employment speaks directly to our values of dignity and justice,” said Raegan Fisher, senior manager of volunteer services and Providence Swedish ProjectSEARCH business liaison. “Less than 25% of people with disabilities will be employed in their lifetime. ProjectSEARCH gives them the opportunity to learn transferable job skills to earn employment and the independence our students deserve."
Philip Smidt, the ProjectSEARCH representative for Everett School District, echoes that sentiment, emphasizing the importance of the program in preparing young adults with disabilities for the workforce.
"Our ProjectSEARCH interns participate in a rigorous and comprehensive nine-month program that helps eliminate barriers and prepares them for competitive employment," said Smidt. “Working alongside Providence staff in departments throughout the hospital as fellow caregivers provides our interns opportunities to gain work experience, confidence, maturity, communication skills, and professional employability skills that they will need to enter the paid workforce."
"I have seen some of the most introverted, non-communicative students enter this program and in a few short months they are carrying on full conversations with their coworkers and telling their parents about their day, something that their families would have never thought possible before they joined ProjectSEARCH," said Fisher.
Looking to the future, both Fisher and Smidt have high hopes for the program's continued growth and success. Fisher envisions more internship opportunities becoming available to students, allowing them to have more varied experiences while demonstrating to hiring managers and caregivers the value ProjectSEARCH interns bring to their teams. Smidt hopes to see the program expand into more departments at Providence, providing even more opportunities and experiences for interns.
For Mary, after graduating from ProjectSEARCH, she was hired by PRMCE, where she continues to thrive while contributing to the hospital's Mission providing compassionate care to the community.
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