FOUNDATION HELPS STUDENTS FIND JOBS IN HEALTH CAREERS

Five years ago, Meike Newell was looking for a career that would allow her to care for herself and her son. An 18-year-old single parent, Newell found help through the Health Careers Foundation.

"Having a child and being on my own, I needed a career with enough money to support us," said Newell, who is from Cape Girardeau.

Today, Newell works as a pharmacist in St. Peters and is able to support herself and 6 1/2 year old Preston.

"Meike is kind of our poster child," said Craig Boring, executive director of the foundation. "She pulled herself up by the bootstraps and we were able to assist her. She's now out there in the real world and doing great."

The foundation helps non-traditional students, like Newell, enter health care careers with grants, scholarships, technical and emotional support. Health-care related businesses fund the foundation, which generates about $1.2 million a year.

In its seven year history, the foundation has given awards of nearly $4.2 million to 2,600 people.

The idea for the foundation came from Health Services Corporation of America in Cape Girardeau and its chairman Earl Norman.

Norman said his company was looking for a way to give something back to the health care industry. "Although there are a lot of worthy causes out there, they really were not unique to our business and generally did not address the issues facing health care."

Specifically, health care was facing shortages of educated personnel, especially those trained in clinical areas like nursing, medical technology and pharmacy.

In addition, Norman said, the nation faces a problem of single parents employed in jobs that don't provide enough money to support a family.

In 1990, Norman and several other top officials from health-care related firms got together to develop the plan. HSCA administers it and has given $2.5 million over 10 years to underwrite the operation. In addition, fund-raising costs are borne by the corporation.

About 80 percent of the funds come from health care corporations, including HSCA. The foundation is independent from the company and operates as a non-profit organization.

About 20 percent of funding comes from a golf classic. The golf tournament provides a different avenue for companies to contribute, as sponsors or advertisers, Boring said.

The application process begins in December when about 400 participating hospitals nationwide look for individuals in their communities who might benefit.

Most individuals are between age 24 and 50. Many participants already work in health care, as nursing assistants or clerks and wish to move up to a clinical job.

"We depend on the hospitals to spread the word," Boring said.

Locally, both Cape Girardeau hospitals, along with hospitals in the region participate.

The program requires students to meet with the CEO and human resources manager of a hospital. They consider the applicant as they would a potential employee. As students work on their education, they also work part-time in the hospital.

Newell, for example, worked part-time in the summer at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

Norman said this exposure offers mentoring and emotional support for students.

The program is part scholarship and part loan; 1/3 of the award is given as a scholarship and 2/3 is a low-interest loan with a liberal pay-back arrangement.

"We wanted people to understand they had a responsibility to support the program," Norman said. The income from repaid loans is used to fund additional scholarships. Between 92 and 95 percent of recipients repay the loans.

Boring said the high percentage of students who repay their loans is due in large part to the type of individuals chosen to participate. "They are older, more responsible and have a better work ethic."

Norman said the foundation has been a success, "But we are barely making dent in the problem."

Statistics show that the number of single-parent families continue to increase. In 1970, about 10 percent of families were headed by a single parent. Today the number is about 30 percent. In some major cities, the number reaches almost 50 percent.

"What we've found in our research is that most of these parents are single moms and they're trying their best to be mother and father," Norman said. "They try their best to stretch their money. But as they get older, the kids run into lot of peer pressure for designer jeans and tennis shoes. That's when we start seeing juvenile delinquency and drugs."

If the mother could get a job with double or triple the salary, the financial gap wouldn't be so great, Norman said.

"Hopefully this keeps them from being forced to jump into relationships just to provide for their families," Norman said.

Newell said the Health Careers Foundation helped give her a boost when she needed it.

"I'm real happy with the decision I made," Newell said. "I'm making a good amount of money. I'm able to start paying back on those loans."

Newell is considering additional career options in the future, perhaps medical school, pharmaceutical research or a doctoral program in pharmacy. "It kind of changes every day," she said.

She is the daughter of Mike and Diann Newell of Cape Girardeau.