Lincoln-West School of Science & Health

By Jamie Cetrone | Categories: | Comments Off on Lincoln-West School of Science & Health

MetroHealth leadership wanted to develop a program that would help local high school students realize a more promising future. In September 2016, the Lincoln-West School of Science & Health opened within MetroHealth Medical Center. With deep immersion in the MetroHealth community, including exposure to a wide variety of careers in the health system and health care industry at large, the goals of the school are to mentor students and prepare them for post-secondary and career opportunities.

Students come from throughout the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, and the program is managed by a MetroHealth employee. In addition to core classes, students have a health industry-specific curriculum that includes community health, empathy, exercise, leadership, medical simulations, and ethics. Freshmen are on-boarded through monthly field trip experiences and sophomores are matched with mentors in areas of interest. Juniors participate in a scholar-employee shadow program and seniors are hired as unpaid interns in various departments throughout MetroHealth.

Per their specific interests, students are matched with hospital employees who are mentors, so they can see firsthand what a career in their interest area entails. Students can be matched with doctors, flight nurses, accountants, food service workers, development staff, strategy teams, any of the hundreds of jobs in a health system.

There has not been a graduating class yet because this is only the second year of the school. It is anticipated that with the smaller class sizes, devoted teachers, and hospital employees who volunteer as mentors and tutors, students will receive the support and encouragement they need to flourish.