Day Kimball Hosted Career Fair to Local High School Students

Val Voccio, Day Kimball Hospital junior volunteer and Woodstock Academy student, stands in front of the Pediatric Nursing booth. Voccio plans to pursue a career in nursing.

PUTNAM, CONNECTICUT – Day Kimball Healthcare recently hosted its first Career Fair for local high school students in Northeast Connecticut. One hundred students from Woodstock Academy, Putnam High School, Killingly High School, Plainfield High School and Griswold High School came to learn about healthcare career opportunities.

Day Kimball staff members from more than 20 departments were on hand to answer questions and provide a hands-on experience for interested students. Among the students’ favorite was the Emergency Department/EMS booth, featuring a CPR dummy as well as other EMS equipment on display. A student from The University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy was also present to discuss the educational requirements involved with becoming a pharmacist. An accounting class from Plainfield High School attended the event to explore career opportunities in the hospital setting. Students left the Career Fair with handouts on various career fields, giveaway items and a Job Shadow application in order to return at a later time to shadow staff in the field of their choice.

Inception of the Career Fair came in response to high school students’ growing interest in performing Job Shadows at Day Kimball Healthcare. The organization’s staff worked to create a Job Shadow program that would better serve high school students from Northeast Connecticut, as well as protect their health when in the hospital environment. Interested students will now be required to provide immunization records and proof of current flu-season vaccinations before performing a Job Shadow. They will also be provided with important information on Infection Control, Safety/Fire/Disaster information and HIPAA guidelines.

Sandra Vasquez, junior volunteer coordinator and one of the organizers of the Career Fair, was impressed with the turn out for the hospital’s first fair. “Many high school students seem interested in joining the medical field or working in a hospital setting. It’s very promising for the future of Connecticut’s healthcare organizations.”