Terrell State hospital trains teens
at first summer health camp at DSHS

Everyone welcomes any kind of shade on a hot, bright summer's day in Texas - even if it comes in the unusual form of a handful of high-school kids "shadowing" you at your job.

That's what the week of June 9-13 was like at Terrell State Hospital for about 18 DSHS employees - nurses, rehabilitation therapists, aides, and others. Their work served as job models for a dozen students from Terrell High School who were attending the first "summer health camp" to be held at a DSHS facility.

Maria Diaz, left, an assistant trainer at Terrell State Hospital, gives instructional tips to Terrell High School student Karen Schmitz as she practices infant CPR.

The camp was designed for students who are curious about entering the health professions. It was sponsored and hosted by Terrell State Hospital, the Presbyterian Hospital of Kaufman, and the Lake Country Area Health Education Center of Tyler, a branch of an organization that held eight such camps across the state to help hospitals provide educational opportunities to community members.

"This is an exciting example of how Terrell State Hospital is thinking outside the box to recruit, expose, and educate students to the world of health care - specifically, caring for people who have mental illness," says Laura Collins, the director of Community Relations and Development at the hospital.

The 12 students attended five full days of training about health-care opportunities they could choose to follow after their graduations from high school. On the first day, each was photographed and issued a temporary hospital badge to help each trainee start feeling what it's like to be an employee in a state hospital.

After the first day, the students were broken into two groups that evenly divided their time between being at TSH and being 10 miles away at Kaufman Presbyterian, a community hospital with a wide range of services that does not include caring for the mentally ill.

Transportation was provided by the camp, and the teens were served lunches each day in the hospitals' cafeterias.

Students at the summer health camp learn how to check their own pulses.

The students' days were kept busy with touring each hospital and attending an overview of its services. They shadowed employees at their jobs, were given information about federal requirements on medical confidentiality, and attended presentations on electroconvulsive therapy and on biotechnology, during which they examined protein cells that make jellyfish glow in the dark. They got hands-on training in saving lives through cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator.

They learned about how emergency medical technicians respond promptly, work in coordination with police or fire departments, and evacuate their patients in ambulances or helicopters. They observed various rehabilitation-therapy sessions between patients and staff, including art therapy and music therapy, and they participated in a therapy session that involved horse riding.

"In some cases, the students were allowed to assist the on-duty nurse with non-confidential care," says Sheila Kunick, a community-relations representative at TSH. "The teens did not have direct contact with our patients, but they did have limited contact when they were shadowing the nurses. The activities were rewarding to the students."

An admissions counselor from the nearby Trinity Valley Community College gave a presentation on college criteria for entering nursing and medical programs. The students also visited that college's Health Science Center in Kaufman to work in nursing-skills labs, where their lessons included learning about injection sites, drawing up medication in a syringe, and giving shots. They learned about preparing their families for emergencies or disasters, and they were taught about recovery from substance abuse.

Ciara Holmes, center, a Terrell High School student at the summer health camp, practices chest compressions on a dummy. The students' CPR training was assisted by an instructional video and several hospital employees, including nurse Kay Galloway at lower right.

On the final day, a small graduation ceremony was held for the trainees. "On the last day, the students reflected on what they had learned, and they rated the camp with very high marks," says Walt Davis, a consultant to TSH Nursing Administration and a past superintendent of the Terrell Independent School District. "The camp was a big success. Nurses and staff at TSH were excellent in working with the students. Many community groups pitched in to host the students and activities."

Along with his TSH colleague Kay Galloway, a nurse and training specialist, Davis organized the summer camp. Both met with the students each day to guide their training.

"The kids were capitivated by their lessons and loved the camp," says Galloway. "Their best compliment was that the camp was too short and needed to last another week. It was great for the staff and for the kids and their families. One side benefit was that the kids learned that there's nothing scary about psychiatric hospitals and pyschiatric nursing."

More than 50 people had some role in making the camp a success. In addition to assistance from the high school, the two hospitals, the community college, and the area health-education center, cooperation also came from the Renaissance Hospital and the Windsor Care Center, both in Terrell, and from the Prospect Mountain Therapeutic Riding Center in Scurry.

"The summer health camp is an excellent example of the cooperative approach to educating our young people about various facets of health care," says Joe Finch, superintendent at TSH. "We hope that it will lead to more students moving into nursing and other health-care careers after high school."