After moving from Puerto Rico to Bethlehem as a high school sophomore in 2017, Genesis Santiago signed up for St. Luke\u2019s School-to-Work (STW) Program at Liberty High School.<\/p>\n
Later, as a student at DeSales University, Santiago worked part-time as a patient access representative at the St. Luke\u2019s Allentown Campus emergency room, where she registered and welcomed patients, including many who primarily speak Spanish.<\/p>\n
The STW partnership between St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network and the Bethlehem Area School District (BASD) has expanded learning and career opportunities for local students such as Santiago for more than 25 years.\u00a0 The program is open to BASD students of all backgrounds who are learning English as their second language. The eligible students are recommended by BASD staff, must be in grades 10 through 12, and be able to speak English at an advanced-beginner or intermediate level.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter their applications are reviewed and students are interviewed by St. Luke\u2019s staff, a cohort of 16 to 18 students are selected each year to participate in the academic\/career program, which combines an integrated health-care focused English and Science curriculum that is taught at Liberty High School,\u201d explained Diana Sanchez, St. Luke\u2019s Workforce Development Specialist.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1997, the initiative aims to engage at-risk students and expose them to diverse health care careers to encourage ESL (English as a Second Language) Learners to remain in school and graduate on time. Of the students who enrolled and completed the program, 92% have graduated from high school.<\/p>\n
Santiago majored in health care administration and human resource management at DeSales University. Last summer she completed a paid internship with St. Luke\u2019s Department of Community Health.<\/p>\n
Born in Puerto Rico, she immigrated to the United States in 2017 when she was 13 years old.\u00a0 She left her homeland after Hurricane Maria devasted the island, leaving it without power or water for an extended period. When she enrolled in the STW program, Genesis spoke limited English and was committed to academics.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenesis was very shy. I remember telling her that I did not know Spanish just so she could practice her language skills,\u201d Sanchez recalls. After completing the STW program, she enrolled in regular education and college preparatory classes and graduated with a high grade-point average.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very proud of where I came from and what I\u2019ve gone through,\u201d Santiago said. \u201cThe challenges I have overcome have made me a better, more compassionate person. People should never exclude or look down upon others because they don\u2019t speak English or come from somewhere else. I enjoy helping people because I\u2019ve been in their shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanchez said on a typical day the STW students start with English class, learning about grammar, pronunciation and writing. They have science during the second block and learn about subjects such as the brain, body systems and healthcare. They also study disease processes and scientific advances to treat and cure diseases.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe STW initiative very intense, entailing more than 35 hours of programming from October through May,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n
St. Luke\u2019s health care professionals, such as the St. Luke\u2019s Emergency & Transport Services flight nurse, visit the classroom and describe their roles. Students also complete rotations in various departments, such as the Cancer Center, Mother-Baby units, the Surgery suite and Post-op. Some students even witness surgeries, like a brain surgery or a knee replacement. At the end of the year, the students deliver presentations about their experiences to the School District Superintendent, teachers and St. Luke\u2019s staff members.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy the end of the academic year, we see consistent and significant growth in their communication and language acquisition skills, as well as their career goal development,\u201d Sanchez said. In addition, national standardized tests that measure English proficiency, given at Liberty High School, have shown that School-to-Work students scored much higher in English language proficiency than other ESL students in their cohorts.<\/p>\n
The School-to-Work Program is one of several programs administered by the St. Luke\u2019s Department of Community Health to provide workplace experiences and expose high school students to careers in Health care. \u201cMore than 390 students have participated in these programs to date,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n
As for Santiago, she envisions a positive future. \u201cI see myself working in a hospital; if it\u2019s St. Luke\u2019s, even better!\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I\u2019d like to be in a management role.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upon graduating from DeSales in December, she continues to work with St. Luke\u2019s Department of Community Health in her role as part-time Project Coordinator for Allentown Blueprint Communities.\u00a0 This organization develops diverse, inclusive and welcoming environments where residents have access to safe, healthy, stable and affordable housing, family-sustaining work force opportunities, community services,\u00a0plentiful neighborhood amenities and an environment that supports equitable economic growth and mobility.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded in 1872,\u00a0St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 20,000 employees providing services at 15 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites. With annual net revenue of $4 billion, the Network\u2019s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke\u2019s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school campus. It also operates the nation\u2019s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 52 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 500 residents and fellows. In 2022, St. Luke\u2019s, a member of the Children\u2019s Hospital Association, established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids.<\/p>\n SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency, and patient satisfaction. St. Luke\u2019s is a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World\u2019s Best Hospital. The Network\u2019s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Fortune\/PINC AI 10 years in a row, including in\u00a02021 when it was identified as\u00a0THE #1 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.\u00a0In 2021, St. Luke\u2019s was also identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After moving from Puerto Rico to Bethlehem as a high school sophomore in 2017, Genesis Santiago signed up for St. Luke\u2019s School-to-Work (STW) Program at Liberty High School. Later, as … Continue reading St. Luke\u2019s School-to-Work Program Helps Non-English-Speaking Students through Health Care Education<\/span>
\nSam Kennedy<\/p>\n