South Central Regional Medical Center, Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and Jones County School District proudly announce the completion of the 2022-23 year of Project SEARCH. A graduation ceremony was held Thursday, May 18 at South Central Regional Medical Center, to celebrate Treylin Powe and John Patrick Smith. The graduates were surrounded by immediate family, instructors and workforce representatives to celebrate the achievement.  

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, the interns have worked their way through 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 Pharmacy, Central Supply, Admissions, Dietary and the Jones County Bus Barn.

Penny McNeer Broom, Vice President of Human Resources, stated, “We are extremely proud of how much progress our interns 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 life. They have valuable skills to offer our community.”

South Central is excited to welcome the 2023-24 Project SEARCH class. McNeer-Broom stated, “We have students currently enrolled for the upcoming year and are pleased to announce a partnership with the Laurel School District.”

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.

In 2023-24, Project SEARCH – SCRMC will offer students from the Jones County School District and Laurel 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.