Project Search: A win-win solution
There are an estimated 6,600 people in Spokane County who have developmental disabilities. Many who have Down syndrome, autism or mild mental retardation are very capable of performing job duties—and anxious to have the responsibility.
Thanks to Project Search—a nationally recognized program matching people with disabilities to employers willing to make a little extra effort—many of these individuals now have the chance to work. And Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital is proud to help make it happen.
Matching potential and positions
Project Search started in Cincinnati when its Children’s Hospital and Medical Center partnered with local agencies dedicated to serving the disabled. There are now more than 50 such partnerships in communities across the country, including the one in Spokane which connects Sacred Heart with the Washington Initiative for Supported Employment (WISE), Skils’kin, Community Minded Enterprises and Spokane County Community Services.The goal of Project Search is to match qualified employees with open positions and provide on-thejob support including coaching and training. What really separates it from other job match efforts is the provision of program staff members who remain at the job site to create a unique support system for people with disabilities.
“When I first heard about this and how well it worked out, both for the Project Search candidates and for the hospital departments who needed extra assistance, I knew we had to try it here,” says Peggy Mangiaracina, vice president and executive director of Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital. “It’s about respect for people and partnering with the community … it just really fits our Mission.”
Welcome aboard!
Implementing Project Search at Sacred Heart was unanimously supported. Right away, department directors began to identify areas where they could benefit from the help of another person. In August 2007, the first Project Search participants were welcomed as Sacred Heart employees.
Megan Caldwell (pictured, right) works as an assistant in Psychiatry Services, helping with preparations necessary to deliver therapeutic activities. Her sorting, stocking, cleaning, photocopying and filing allows the therapists to spend more time with patients, and that’s a gift of infinite value. Megan also organizes the department’s patient clothing closet so staff can locate items quickly.
Rich Ryan (pictured at the top of this page) is a recycling tech in Central Distribution. His weekly routine takes him throughout the entire hospital campus to pick up and properly handle bins for confidential papers to be shredded and others to be recycled. Rich works 32 hours a week and receives full employment benefits, including health insurance and paid time off.
Victoria Lamp works in Food & Nutrition Services on a supplemental basis to help provide meals for patients, employees and guests. She works on the assembly line that puts together patient meal trays, handling food requests for 350-450 patients during any given meal. Victoria also returns clean dishes and utensils to their proper place, prepares for the next meal and sanitizes the tray carts once they return from the patient units.
Growing support
By Fall of 2008, Sacred Heart hopes to launch a program with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and Spokane Public Schools to provide work-based training opportunities to high school students with disabilities.For now, things are progressing well with the existing program. Mental health counselors leading activities therapy are thrilled that the support from their Project Search participant provides them an extra 14 hours a week to devote to patient care.
“Our staff embraced the concept of Project Search as a win-win solution,” says Susan Hammond, director of Psychiatry Services. “It’s an opportunity to advocate for people with developmental disabilities to find meaningful employment, and it has significantly enhanced the job satisfaction for our staff.”
Shirley Bader, the employment specialist who matches applicants with the appropriate jobs, says there is great satisfaction in seeing people with disabilities being recognized for what they can do, versus what they can’t. “It’s incredible to see them hold up their first paycheck and say, ‘I earned this myself!’”
If your business would like to join forces with Project Search, contact Cathy Sacco at the Washington Initiative for Supported Employment at (509) 328-2310.
Sacred Heart’s Laboratory, Sterile Processing and Environmental Services departments also have identified positions available for Project Search applicants. Shirley says an organization the size of Sacred Heart could reasonably support 50-75 Project Search employees in the future.
“Nearly every department has positions that could be open to people with disabilities,” she adds. “The possibilities are endless.”
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