A STEP into the working world — Special needs teens get experience at Boone Hospital

By Shannon Whitney

This story is featured in the Winter 2013 edition of myBoone Health magazine. Click here for a free subscription.

Starting last fall, there were some new faces in the halls of Boone. They might be transporting linens, organizing surgery trays, serving food or emptying wastebaskets.

These six seniors from Hickman and Rock Bridge high schools have joined Boone’s workforce to get some experience working before graduation in May.

Seamless Transition through Enhanced Partnership, or STEP, was specifically designed for students with special needs who want to learn important job skills that will help them make the transition from student to employee after graduation.

Karen Morgan is the STEP program instructor. She spends some time with the interns in the transition center each day before and after they go to work. They discuss job skills, enthusiasm, body language, attitude and other social skills that will help them succeed on the job.

“We’ve tried to set this up as close to the real job experience as possible,” Morgan said. “They filled out the application and took the competency tests; they went through the interview process just like anyone else would. We have tried to make it as realistic as possible.”

She said the interns are excited to leave the classroom environment and learn new skills.

“They’ve all blossomed by being a part of this program. Many of them struggled in school, academically or socially,” Morgan said. “Here, they are feeling included for probably the first time in their life.”

Randy Fry is a clinical educator at Boone who works closely with the STEP interns.

“They add a lot of benefit, and it opens people’s eyes to see what people with developmental disabilities true capabilities are,” Fry said. “It goes along with our culture here. We want to be diverse and inclusive but we’ve never taken it to this level before.”

Meet Andrew 

Andrew Carter is one of the interns who spends most of his day on the first floor of the hospital. As a part of the Environmental Services team, he empties wastebaskets and cleans patient rooms in the sleep lab.

His favorite task is cleaning in the security office. He loves talking to the security employees.

While pushing his cart and wearing a red polo, he greets his coworkers as well as patients. “I say hello and have a conversation with them,” said Andrew of his frequent chatter. “I hope it makes them feel a whole lot better. I want to make them feel welcome.”

Andrew has volunteered before, but never for an extended period of time. He’s grateful to get to know his coworkers better and learn his way around the hospital.

Meet Tyler

Tyler Young is usually pushing around a cart called a “gondola,” collecting trash and then doing one of his favorite duties: putting it in the compactor.

Tyler Young

“I love being able to pick up trash because it gives me a chance to be active,” said Tyler, who enjoys being on the move all day instead of in a classroom.

He gets to see many parts of the hospital, but the Birthplace is his favorite.

“It makes me feel happy, seeing patients hoping they get well soon, and seeing newborn babies being born makes me all cheerful,” Tyler said. Tyler is also proud of his Vocera (a mobile communication device used at Boone Hospital) skills, and he’s making new friends in the hospital.

“I’ve learned responsibility from picking up the trash and always being on the lookout for patients and obstacles,” said Tyler of his work experience.

He also works in Environmental Services and enjoys eating lunch and socializing with his coworkers. Tyler’s excited to begin his job hunt this spring.

Next Step

The STEP interns work closely with ACT Career Specialist Josef Felten to look for permanent employment after graduation.

“I didn’t know any of these students before they started. We’ve all watched since the fall. We’ve seen some of them become totally different kids,” said Felten with a smile.

During the year, they will learn how to interact with coworkers and supervisors. They continue to work on basic job-training skills that will give them an edge when it comes to career hunting.

Most of the STEP interns were shy when they first started at Boone. Morgan is proud of how interactive they have become and how involved they feel working at the hospital.

Both Morgan and Felten are excited to see the interns continue to progress through building their hands-on learning and job skills.