Health Excellence & Academic Leadership (HEAL)
The HEAL internship program introduces middle and high school students of color to career opportunities in the healthcare field. Students gain exposure to health careers through hands-on experiences such as shadowing doctors, nurses, and other clinicians; skills workshops; seminars; and field trips. The internship experience includes:
- Department Rotations: At the core of the HEAL experience are rotations through a variety of clinical departments at Highland Hospital, such as Labor and Delivery, Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Pediatrics, Radiology, Respiratory, and more!
- Intro to Health Careers: Students are introduced to a broad spectrum of health careers and learn about the education and training requirements to pursue their career goals.
- Professional and Life Skills: Students attend classes and workshops covering topics such as professionalism, collaboration and teamwork, public speaking, and other skills that are critical to success in any career.
HEAL offers in-school, after school, and summer internships for students in grades 8-12. All internships take place at Highland Hospital in Oakland. Students must be enrolled in an Oakland public school or be an Oakland resident.
The HEAL summer internship runs weekdays from mid-June to late July each year. Through our partnership with Oakland Unified School District, you can earn 10 elective credits upon successful completion of the HEAL internship and receive a stipend or college scholarship.
For up-to-date information on our current program offerings, click the following link: http://healthpath-ahs.org/healprogramapply/. For more information contact: healprogram@alamedahealthsystem.org
FACES for the Future
FACES for the Future is a two-year program that motivates and prepares youth from varied backgrounds for entry into careers in all areas of the health professions. FACES offers two programs at Alameda Health System:
- Alameda Hospital school-year program for 11th and 12th graders enrolled in Alameda Unified School District
- San Leandro Hospital school-year program for 11th and 12th graders enrolled in San Leandro Unified School District
FACES provides students with unique opportunities to learn from healthcare professionals in hospital settings and explore career options in the health professions. Additionally, students benefit from academic enrichment opportunities, including individualized tutoring and college preparation activities, leadership training, and multi-faceted psychosocial support services, including one-on-one case management. The program also provides support to alumni by assisting them with job/internship placements, academic/career guidance and ongoing life coaching.
For more information contact: Reatha Conn, reatha.conn@phi.org or visit: facesforthefuture.org
Community Health & Adolescent Mentoring Program for Success (CHAMPS)
CHAMPS is the Community Health & Adolescent Mentoring Program for Success at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland. CHAMPS is a three-year internship program (starting 10th grade) that introduces underrepresented minority high school students to health professions and collaborates with local high schools, health academies, colleges, universities, medical schools and residency programs. Each student will participate in six to eight-week clinical rotations in different hospital departments and senior students’ present capstone projects incorporating their internship experience at the hospital, community clinics and private medical offices. The internship also includes:
- Academic Guidance & Support
- Case Management
- Healthcare Education
- Hospital/Healthcare Internships
- Mentoring
- Psychosocial Services
- Associated with Adolescent Medicine at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland
For more information contact: Michelle Ednacot, Michelle.ednacot@ucsf.edu or visit: childrenshospitaloakland.org/main/champs.aspx
East Bay Innovations
East Bay Innovations (EBI) is partnering with HealthPATH to prepare students with developmental disabilities for employment through internships at Highland Hospital. Students enrolled in Oakland Unified School District’s Young Adult Program are placed in hospital departments such as Environmental Services, Materials Management, and Food Services where they learn transferable vocational skills and gain work experience that will prepare them for future independent employment. The EBI model includes intensive job coaching, provided by an on-site job coach, so that students are supported to be successful throughout the program.
For more information contact: Jessica Cutter, jcutter@eastbayinnovations.org or visit: eastbayinnovations.org
Mentoring in Medicine & Science
Mentoring in Medicine & Science (MIMS) offers career exploration programs for students of color in high school and college that provide exposure to a breadth of health careers while providing meaningful mentorship and leadership development. MIMS offers the following programs:
Summer Intensive Internship
The Summer Internship is a five week, full-time program in which students will observe direct patient care at Highland Hospital and other clinics in the East Bay, interact with a broad spectrum of health professionals, and attend skills workshops and leadership development seminars. In addition to the clinical segment, students will learn about the prevention and management of health issues disproportionately affecting low-income communities. The summer internship also includes:
• Shadowing in health fields, such as emergency medicine, pediatrics, orthopedics, internal medicine, public health, nursing, and/or physician assistant (depending on availability)
• One-on-one career advising
• Life-coaching sessions and team building activities
• Civic-engagement opportunities and field trips
Health Scholars Program
The Health Scholars program exposes high school students to a breadth of health careers while providing targeted mentorship from health professionals of color. Workshops cover topics from basic anatomy to first aid and nutrition and are taught in a relatable and real-world framework. The program is currently offered to ninth-grade young men of color at Oakland Technical High School and students in the alternative education program at Dewey Academy in Oakland.
For more information, visit: mimscience.org
HealthPATH College Internships: Gateway to Health Careers Summer Internship & On-Ramp to Health Careers Internship
The Gateway to Health Careers is Alameda Health System’s home based college program that connects talented, diverse college students with summer internship opportunities through which they gain the necessary exposure, experience, and mentorship to discover and launch health careers. Each year, HealthPATH works with Alameda Health System departments to place summer interns in a variety of healthcare clinical and administration positions in departments such as Quality and Risk, Health Information Management, Specialty’s Clinics, Simulation Center, Accreditation, Human Resources and many more departments.
The On-Ramp to Health Careers is a six-month internship program for under-represented community college students attending Berkeley City College, Chabot College, and Merritt College. The program covers professional skills such as resume writing, interviewing, public speaking, elevator pitches, and other skills. Participants will also have the opportunity to learn about health careers at AHS through placement in clinical and non-clinical hospital departments where they will be mentored by health system leaders.
For up-to-date information on our current program offerings, click the following link: http://healthpath-ahs.org/collegeinternships/. For more information contact: healthpath@alamedahealthsystem.org.
Alameda Health System Volunteer Program
Alameda Health System’s Volunteer Program offers volunteer opportunities at AHS’s hospitals for individuals 18 years old and older and out of high school. Volunteers assist with a wide variety of tasks, beginning in clerical and customer service roles and progressing to placements in clinical departments as they gain familiarity with and experience in the hospital. Volunteers are required to commit to a minimum of one four hour shift per week over 12 months.
For more information, visit: alamedahealthsystem.org/giving/
Alameda County Health Coach Program
The Alameda County Health Coach Program aims to improve the health of community members by pairing them with culturally sensitive health coaches. Health coaching is an innovative method to improve health outcomes by motivating patients to manage their health. Health coaches assist patients in understanding their health plan, making medical appointments, identifying resources and advocating for themselves. Health coaches help bridge the gap between clinician and patient by helping patients navigate the health care system, offering emotional support, and serving as a continuity figure. This innovative program is the first to provide health coaching to patients visiting the Emergency Room. Health Coaches are trained in chronic disease management, motivational coaching, patient advocacy, and healthcare system navigation.
Health Coach volunteers commit to a weekly 4-hour shift in Highland Hospital’s Emergency Department for 6 to 12 months. This is a wonderful opportunity for a person interested in supporting efforts aimed at improving the health outcomes of their community and looking to gain experience in health-related work. Participants must have an interest in and enthusiasm for addressing the health disparities of underserved communities.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Must be 18 years-old or older
- High school diploma or GED
- Speaking Spanish is highly recommended (but not required)
- Excellent relationship building skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to work with a diverse group of individuals (including age, gender, race/ethnicity, etc)
- Ability to take direction and work independently on assigned projects
For more information about the program, please contact Michael Pham, Alameda County Health Coach Program Director, at michael.pham@acgov.org.
ELAM Research Fellowship
The ELAM Research Fellowship provides two to three month fellowships to graduates of the Latin American School of Medicine, an international medical school in Havana, Cuba. ELAM fellows are recently graduated physicians who are returning to the United States to pursue their medical residency. During their fellowship, fellows conduct clinical research in Highland Hospital’s Internal Medicine Department and gain valuable experience in a U.S. acute care setting. The fellowship provides the fellows with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the U. S. medical system, learn current medical guidelines, and gain skills in hospital or clinical research methods.
For more information, contact: Dr. Judith Wofsy, jwofsy@alamedahealthsystem.org
Community Health Workers
Alameda Health System partners with the Alameda County Healthcare Services Agency’s Health Coaches training program and Emergency Medical Services Corps program to recruit candidates for positions as Community Health Outreach Workers. This partnership provides employment opportunities to under-represented young adults with barriers to employment while filling critical community health worker roles with diverse individuals from Alameda County who come from the communities AHS serves.