On Friday, June 7, 2019, nine interns from the Mary Washington Healthcare Project SEARCH program in Fredericksburg, VA graduated after successfully completing a nine-month internship course. This Project SEARCH program is a collaboration between RSVP, Inc., Stafford County Public Schools, the Virginia Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), and Mary Washington Healthcare. Each intern attends daily classroom training with RSVP, Inc. Skills Trainers and receives hands-on training and experience through a series of three internship rotations in different departments throughout the hospital system. The interns are paired with a hospital employee who acts as a mentor during the internship and the hands-on learning experience. While participating in the program, the interns learn about appropriate workplace behaviors, communication, teamwork and problem-solving and acquire marketable and transferrable skills. Upon graduation, the goal is that the interns secure competitive employment in their community using the skills and training that they received during their time in Project SEARCH.
We are pleased to report that all of these interns are now working successfully! Their hard work and dedication has paid off, and we are very proud of their accomplishments. Congratulations, graduates!
The Project SEARCH model was developed at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 1996 by Erin Riehle. The model is now used across the country, as well as internationally. To learn more, please visit www.projectsearch.us.