GONZALES — A total of 23 Summer Health Institute (SHI) students recently graduated from this year’s program, and on July 16 they participated in a presentation of their community advocacy projects.
SHI is a program provided by Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (SVMHS), which also hosted a Covid-19 vaccine second-dose clinic in Greenfield on July 17.
Of the 23 graduates, three were Gonzales High School students: Danasiah Martinez, Desiree Meza and Klarissa Rose Nabor.
“We always have Gonzales representation in the program,” said Karina Rusk, director of public relations and system communications for SVMHS.
High school students must apply for the program, giving up five weeks of their summer to immerse themselves in the educational opportunity. They learn about complex healthcare systems and issues, getting to spend time with doctors, nurses and HR managers in the medical field.
Rusk noted some students are inspired to move forward in pursuing a medical career.
Last year’s program was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but this year’s offerings were hybrid in format, with virtual learning opportunities and presenters mixed in with hands-on learning at locations, including Hartnell College. Rusk said a total of 94 professionals took part in presenting or offering engagement opportunities.
“I will be majoring in nursing at Hartnell College in hopes of becoming a labor and delivery nurse,” Martinez said. “When I first started the SHI program, I originally thought that I wanted to become a surgeon; however, when I heard Ms. Julie Vasher, I was amazed … I felt that becoming a labor and delivery nurse was my calling. I am now excited for my future, and I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
Meza will also be attending Hartnell this fall to major in nursing.
“I want to become an ICU nurse caring for the critically ill,” she said. “I learned a lot from SHI about the many career options it has to offer, to learning how to assess a patient, and to diagnosing and learning more about the body through presentations. It was a fun and beneficial way to spend my summer.”
Student projects this year focused on health equity, an area of concern in South Monterey County due to the distance from medical centers or ability to access such centers for farmworker families. Projects done in smaller groups included one on Blue Zones in Monterey County, outreach efforts and diabetes.
“We’re building a foundation for success and it’s so cool to see it come to fruition and hopefully come home and help people in our communities,” Rusk said.
The Greenfield vaccine clinic was organized as a result of grassroots partnerships and collaborations, where the SVMHS mobile health clinic has both places it routinely goes and locations identified as in need of service.
Greenfield was identified by Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indigena Oaxaqueno, which then helped with enrolling recipients for the two-stage vaccine process.
“We knew this would be an important collaboration,” said Pete Delgado, Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System president/CEO. “We had no idea, however, just how critical our mission would become with the rapidly spreading Delta variant. Our partnerships with grass roots organizations serving indigenous populations are more important than ever before.”
There were an estimated 120 second doses for the Greenfield clinic, with another 20 doses for walk-ins in the form of the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. To date, SVMHS has administered more than 51,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses to the community.
