PEACHES: A sweet program for students

WINSTED — Nearly a dozen students from Pearson Middle School joined students from five other schools last month as participants in the first PEACHES program. PEACHES, which stands for Providing Early Acquaintance to Careers in Health Expanded to Schools, is funded by an inter-district grant administered by Education Connection in cooperation with Northwestern Connecticut AHEC.

"The mission of the program is to bring students from both urban, rural and suburban areas together for a common learning experience," said PEACHES Program Director Kitty Hillson. "It’s a one-week program designed to give kids a sampling of different health-care programs."

During the course of a week, 76 students were introduced to a variety of health-care and public safety careers, some of which the students may not have been familiar with prior to the program.

In addition to visiting the UConn Dental School, students participated in a full hazardous materials (HAZMAT) drill where they served as victims of a staged chemical exposure or as responders to the scene. Victims were triaged and treated and responders received training to better understand their roles.

PEACHES participants also had the opportunity to learn about forensic science and other careers during a tour of Waterbury Hospital. Visiting a variety of departments, students learned about x-ray technology and even had the opportunity to have their backpacks x-rayed to show how the machines works. They also visited the surgical department, othopedics, the cardiac cath lab and the physical therapy department.

"Students filled out evaluations at the conclusion of the program and by and large they were very positive," said Hillson. "In some of the evaluations, some of the students started off thinking they wanted to go into one career and by the end they had been introduced to a variety of careers they had no idea about.

"The hope is that some of these kids will decide to be practitioners in the state of Connecticut," said Hillson, who added there is already a great shortage of medical pracitioners in the state that is expected to get worse over time.

The PEACHES Program has been funded again for next year. For more information about the program and possible involvement for your child, contact the Pearson School or PEACHES at 203-758-1110.