Parkview Health’s commitment to diversity and inclusion means creating a workplace that supports a culture of equity and diversity. Alex Bonilla Canales, DEI recruitment specialist, Human Resources, Parkview Health, shared two opportunities currently available to individuals with disabilities.
Easterseals The Arc
Parkview Hospital Randallia currently offers internship positions in partnership with Easterseals Arc, Northeast Indiana.
“This program really brings excitement to those on the ground,” Alex said. “These individuals enjoy coming in and are happy to be doing things outside of their normal activities. They feel excited to wear their badge and put on the same scrubs as everyone else. It brings a lot of excitement.”
Project SEARCH
Parkview Wabash Hospital, and soon Parkview LaGrange Hospital, offer opportunities through Project SEARCH, a worksite-based school-to-work program that provides opportunities for students with disabilities.
“Project SEARCH requires a host business to bring in interns to work in various departments of hospital,” Kerri Mattern, leader, Community Health Initiatives, Parkview Health, explained. “It teaches skills the participants can take into any workforce, such as coming in on time, working as a team, completing tasks on time. The program builds confidence and independence in the participants. You can see their sense of self-worth grow. It’s wonderful from a work training and personal skills perspective.”
This has certainly been the case for current Project SEARCH interns Maddy Ball, Brianna “Bri” Lengel and Hunter Keaton, who all shared their experiences participating in the program.
But perhaps one of the biggest benefits of both programs is the impact these interns bring to their Parkview teammates. “Our co-workers have been very blessed by this program,” Kerri said. “They’ve embraced it. We get great joy from these interns. They are each excited to come in and on the days we might be struggling, we look at them and see their joy, and it gives us a renewed purpose for the work we’re doing.” The friendships and relationships formed from this program have been a heartwarming bonus for all involved.
According to Alex, the more people learn about these programs, the broader the impact they have. “We’re adding more cohorts throughout our hospitals as time goes on,” he said. “It’s snowballed positively and members of the community and health system want to get involved in supporting these programs and neurodivergent individuals as part of Parkview.”
To learn more about all of the Student Learning Opportunities available at Parkview, visit us here.
