Mercy Health Celebrates 2024 Project SEARCH Graduates

Mercy Health – Lorain celebrated the Class of 2024 this week, as 7 Project SEARCH interns marked their successful completion of the program.

“Congratulations to our Project SEARCH interns. We are proud of the tremendous growth they have shown throughout the program and all that they’ve accomplished this year,” said Dr. Gil Palmer, president of Mercy Health – Lorain Hospital. “Their success emphasizes the importance of this program, both in the educational opportunities provided to these students and also in bringing diversity to our organization and local workforce.”

Through Project SEARCH, high-school aged students with disabilities can have an internship at Mercy Health – Lorain, where they can receive on-the-job training. The Project Search interns are able to experience working in all parts of the hospital as they rotate through different departments as the emergency department or human resources.

“This program supports the transition into the workforce through skills development, helping grow the confidence and independence of our students. We also help them with a customized job search in the second half of the school year which has resulted in many of our graduates gaining competitive employment in our community,” said Kaylee Ammar, Project SEARCH instructor for Mercy Health – Lorain. “I am so proud of all the interns and am excited to see them continue to grow beyond our program.”

Mercy Health – Lorain works with several community partners including the Education Service Center of Lorain County and UCP of Greater Cleveland to prepare the interns for fulfilling and productive jobs after high school. During the past decade of the program’s existence, 76% of Mercy Health – Lorain’s interns have found employment within their first year of graduation, including some who were hired for roles at Mercy Health.

The program not only provides interns with support to find employment, but also helps them to maintain it once they are employed. That includes offering interns help with driver’s training, accessing benefits, and other important assistance that enables them to grow into confident, independent citizens.

For more information about Mercy Health’s Project SEARCH program, visit mercy.com. You can also schedule a tour of Mercy Health – Lorain’s Project SEARCH site by contacting Kaylee Ammar at ammar@esclc.org.