South Central Regional Medical Center, Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and Jones County School District proudly announces that five interns completed the inaugural year of Project SEARCH hosted by South Central Regional Medical Center. A graduation ceremony was held Tuesday, May 19 at South Central Place where graduates were surrounded by immediate family and instructors.  

Graduates of the program include Johnathan Knotts, Zachary Matthews, Weston Mott, Shateecia Pruitt and Anna Widener.

The program, which was started by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, is designed to help students with intellectual disabilities move into the workforce after high school.

For the past year, interns have worked their way through three rotations in different departments of SCRMC. Along with on-site job duties, interns were taught business etiquette, interview skills, personal presentation and completed community service. During their time at SCRMC, the interns assisted in Admissions, Environmental Services, Food Services, Laboratory, Materials Management, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Wound Care and Nursing Units.

Janet Staples, Vice President of Human Resources, stated, “We are extremely proud of how much progress the interns have made throughout the year. We have all learned a lot this year and we look forward to following their progress in the coming months as they begin the next chapter in their lives. They have valuable skills to offer our health system and our community.

Project SEARCH is a national program designed to help students with disabilities obtain competitive community-based employment is expanding to south Mississippi through a strategic collaboration of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, South Central Regional Medical Center and the Jones County School District.

Project SEARCH SCRMC is offering up to 12 students from the Jones County School District a ten-month internship position.  This opportunity allows the students to work on employability and functional skills in several areas including team building, technology, communication, job search skills and money management.