Addison Kolls knows what she wants. From a young age, the senior at Adams-Friendship High School has had a keen interest in healthcare, and because of her own health issues, she’s spent her fair share of time in the medical setting.
Now, as she prepares to graduate and take that next step in life, she knows what direction she’s headed – and it leads right into the world of healthcare.
“I have specialists. I’m in this setting a lot for myself,” Kolls said, “so to watch how my doctors are working, I just think that’s really interesting in the way they give back to me. I want to give back to others.”
Luckily for students like Kolls and others with the same interests at Adams-Friendship, a new partnership between the school, Emplify Health by Gundersen Friendship and Mid-State Technical College provides a pathway for students to take college-level courses (which earns them college credits) and gain hands-on experience in a variety of medical roles.
It’s called the Health Career Academy (HCA), and the 2024-25 school year marks the first cohort of students who are moving through the one-semester program. During that time, they take a class in medical terminology at the high school, as well as a human body in health and disease course at the Mid-State campus in Adams.
“The Health Career Academy is an incredible opportunity for students to explore their passion for healthcare while gaining real-world experience and college credits,” said Jackie Esselman, Dean, Recruitment & Admissions, Mid-State Technical College Wisconsin Rapids. “By providing hands-on learning in a local medical setting, we’re not only preparing students for their future careers but also strengthening the healthcare workforce in our communities.”
Successful completion of the program, which includes attending job experience events, job shadows and tours at Emplify Health by Gundersen Friendship, earns students a Healthcare Foundations certificate. Just as important, they’ll have jumpstarted their post-secondary education even before earning their high school diploma.
A growing need
In 2021, access to care was identified as one of Adams County’s health need priorities through what’s known as a county health needs assessment. Through this process, and in conjunction with other community agencies, it was determined that recruitment and retention of the healthcare workforce was essential to maintain and improve access to care.
That led Emplify Health by Gundersen Friendship to adopt a “grow your own” approach, which is an effort to expose middle and high school students to different healthcare careers, in hopes that they’ll pursue healthcare education after high school and return to work in their hometown.
“There are shortages in various healthcare careers, and added to this, it can be harder to recruit staff to work in a rural area,” said Tammy Lowrey, marketing and community relations at Emplify Health by Gundersen Friendship. “The students grew up here and have family in the area, so we’re hoping that maybe they would consider returning to work here after they graduate.”
With this growing need in mind, hospital officials reached out to the school district and technical college seeking a collaboration, and hearing that they were also looking to partner, the Health Career Academy was created.
‘You can do it all here’
On March 13, Kolls, along with junior Sierra Weaver, were job shadowing at the hospital in areas they selected based on their interests – Kolls in the Lab, Family Clinic and Respiratory Therapy departments and Weaver in Nursing and Occupational Therapy.
While in the lab, Kolls said she was intrigued by the number of ways a sample can be analyzed.
“We know when we go get our blood drawn, it goes to the back,” she said. “But these people have to take their time. It’s the passion for it. They want to do it, even though it’s behind the scenes.”
Kolls wanted to see the lab because she’s always had an interest in both biology and healthcare, so it seemed like a natural place to combine those interests.
Weaver has a personal connection to occupational therapy, which put that atop her list. Her younger brother has been treated in that department, so she’s watched his journey and has seen the care he’s received.
“I find that interesting, trying to help and learning more about it,” she said.
That’s the thinking lab manager Becky Craig and others at the hospital like to see from the students. These experiences, she says, give students a more in-depth look at places like the lab and everything that happens within it. There are several areas in which to specialize within a department, and many times, people aren’t aware of those opportunities.
Craig said programs like the HCA are “huge” when it comes to fulfilling the needs of a rural hospital.
“Otherwise, these kids don’t know what some of these jobs are, and it’s a lot easier to get people to stay than it is to recruit in certain areas of the hospital,” she said. “It’s huge for them to see what’s out there. There’s lab, there’s respiratory, there’s x-ray, and you can do it all here.”
‘Care that they deserve’
There are 10 students enrolled in this year’s HCA, and that’s encouraging for high school science teacher Jim Vance to see. Vance teaches medical terminology for the program – a college-level class he worked to become certified to instruct. He’s glad a program like this now exists for his students.
“A lot of kids in this area think, what does this area have to offer?” Vance said. “There’s a hospital sitting right here that they could work for,” adding that it’s important to have opportunities like the HCA so they can be exposed to health-related fields, take college-level classes and have those credits paid for.
Vance says the gravitation toward science classes at the school has gotten a lot stronger recently, and that’s helped programs like the HCA become something students are interested in.
“I notice there are more kids interested in science and more kids who are interested in healthcare careers, which I think is due to the fact that there’s a lot more exposure to it and the fact that they’re doing the healthcare academy,” he said.
And Kolls is one such student. In addition to the HCA, she’s also enrolled in the medical assistant program at Mid-State, and if all goes as planned, she’ll finish next year. Then, she hopes to use her education in a clinical or hospital setting.
“I really like talking to people,” she said. “I’m a very personable person, so I really want to give patients the care that they deserve.”
She adds that she’d be open to working in a rural hospital like Emplify Health by Gundersen Friendship because it’s a lifeline to people who don’t have access to care in larger cities or the ability to always pay for their care.
“This hospital has given back so much to those around us and given healthcare to those in need,” Kolls said. “I think it’s really important to help those people. I really think that working in a rural community would be an option for me.”
To learn more about the program, contact Mid-State college outreach coordinator Alyssa Ede at (715) 342-3117 or alyssa.ede@mstc.edu.