Disabled OKC students train for future
Reggie Williams takes pride in his internship at Southwest Integris Medical Center in south Oklahoma City.
The 20-year-old graduate of Star Spencer High School is one of eight students with disabilities receiving job training at the hospital.
Williams lights up when he talks about working in the food service department.
“Yesterday I knocked out a whole lunch line,” he boasted Friday morning. “I was serving people left and right.
“People ask for specific things, like less beans or more beans, more ham and beans or less ham and beans, or a tiny bit of gravy. I follow whatever the customer asks.”
Williams and the other students are participating in Project Search, a new partnership between Integris Southwest and Oklahoma City Public Schools.
Selected students work three 10-week rotations at the hospital in departments that include radiology, nursing, rehabilitation and emergency.
As part of their unpaid training, they spend an hour a day in a hospital classroom learning how to set goals, write resumes and interview for jobs. In all, they are on the job for about seven hours a day.
“There are gaps in their skill levels,” said Kennda Miller, an instructional supervisor for Oklahoma City Public Schools. “The purpose of this training is to decrease those gaps so that they can be successful outside of this supported environment.”
Adrian Cueto doesn’t move or speak as quickly as some of the other interns, but he is just as determined to succeed. Cueto, 18, a graduate of Southeast High School, works in the hospital’s Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation unit.
“I open the gym. Turn the lights on. Get some fresh water for the patients. Make sure everything’s clean,” he said. “I like it here. People appreciate me.”
His goal is to attend Oklahoma City Community College and become a mechanic.
“I’m going to get a parttime job, also,” he said.
As the students progress, they are given different assignments and added responsibilities, said Shelley Conallis, Project Search instructor for Southwest Integris.
“My hope is each intern obtains transferable job skills that will help them become a successful employee,” said Conallis, a former teacher in the Moore and Oklahoma City districts.
Jasmine Loyola, 18, works in the hospital’s emergency department, where she spends most of her time restocking supplies such as blood pressure kits, IV kits, blankets, gowns and towels.
Southwest Integris’ emergency department is one of the busiest in Oklahoma, with 76,000 visits in Fiscal Year 2018.
“They’re going through stuff, constantly,” Conallis said.
Loyola, a Northwest Classen High graduate, is soft-spoken and is focused on her goals. She takes a bus to work every morning, often rising at 5:30 a.m. She never misses work, Conallis said.
“I like stocking. That’s my favorite thing to do,” she said, adding she hopes to someday go to work for Integris Southwest.
“It’s fun,” she said.