Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital Project SEARCH Graduates Overcome Disabilities to Secure New Jobs
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Malvern, PA – On Tuesday, August 28, 2012, the second class of Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital’s Project SEARCH program interns will graduate, at a ceremony at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital in Malvern beginning at 5 p.m. The graduating class includes 9 interns who successfully completed the program, 8 of whom have already secured employment. Certificates of completion will be presented to each of the graduating interns.
Project SEARCH is an innovative program established by Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital that focuses on adults with disabilities who want to enter or re-enter the workforce. The focus of the program is to teach employable skills to adults with disabilities through on-the-job experience in community businesses and organizations. The Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital Project SEARCH program is the first adults-only program in Pennsylvania and only the second in the United States.
Through collaboration between the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), community businesses and the hospital, businesses provide internship opportunities, while OVR provides job mentoring and Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital provides education to the interns.
The first Project SEARCH business partnership was Main Line Health. Since the start of the program in October 2010, Project SEARCH has secured two additional business partners; Brandywine Valley YMCA and The YMCA of Philadelphia and Vicinity; Rocky Run Branch. During the program the interns learned job skills that enabled them to successfully work in a variety of positions, including dietary aides, patient transporters, medical records clerks, clerical staff and facilities assistants. The interns were mentored by supervisors and co-workers and received classroom education that focused on worker characteristics, resume writing and interview skills.
Donna M. Phillips, President of Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, was the catalyst for developing the Project SEARCH model for adults. “As an acute rehabilitation hospital, our goal is to help our patients and all individuals with disabilities achieve the highest level of independence possible. Project SEARCH helps us achieve this goal and it extends our continuum of care by offering education, job mentoring and work experience designed specifically for adults with disabilities. Through Project SEARCH we can help our interns achieve successful employment in the region’s highly competitive work force.”
About Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital
Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, a member of Main Line Health, is a leader in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation. The 148-bed, not-for-profit hospital offers the full continuum of rehabilitation services, including acute inpatient care, as well as outpatient services for adults and adolescents. The range of illnesses and injuries treated at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital includes traumatic, mild traumatic and non-traumatic brain injury, stroke and other neurological disorders, spinal cord injury and amputee and orthopedic injuries and illnesses. In addition, the Main Line Health Outpatient Rehab Network provides rehabilitation services at convenient locations in Philadelphia’s western suburbs for patients of all ages. For more information about Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, visit mainlinehealth.org/rehab.
Related Links
Contact
Bridget Therriault
Director, Communications
Office: 484-580-1025
Cell: 484-222-9154
therriaultb@mlhs.org
Connect with
New Appointments
1.866.CALL.MLH
