Healthcare Speaker Series

In the summer of 2024, Corryville Catholic held an inaugural Scrubs Camp for rising 6th and 7th graders. The goal of the camp was to expose middle-schoolers to various healthcare careers while providing them with important healthcare skills including CPR, Stop the Bleed, and accessing emergency care through 911. The Scrubs Camp was a joint event with the University of Cincinnati Area Health Education Center, Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative, and CISE. 

Given the success and continued interest in the topics from the 2024 Scrubs Camp, the team of collaborators (University of Cincinnati Area Health Education Center, Greater Cincinnati STEM Collaborative, and CISE) worked with the Corryville leadership to run a monthly healthcare series during the afterschool BELL program. The healthcare series is scheduled to run for 6 sessions and covers the following Healthsource Health Observance topics: 

• November Healthcare Connections – National Nurse Week  
• December Healthcare Connections – Disability Awareness  
• February Healthcare Connections – Heart Health Awareness 
• March Healthcare Connections – National Nutrition Awareness 
• April Healthcare Connections – Minority Health Month  

The first session took place in October 2024, and the students in the Corryville Catholic BELL program learned firsthand from about the role and responsibilities of a mental health counselor.  In November students learned about the important work of nurses and physician assistants.

Most recently, BELL students learned about Dulebohn Service Dogs. Celeste Borgemenke, a long-time volunteer with Dulebohn Service Dogs and graduate of Ursuline Academy, was the December healthcare speaker. During her time with the participants, she shared the importance of service dogs for individuals with disabilities, the joy of being a handler, and the love that these dogs bring to others. Students also had the opportunity to meet two of her ambassador dogs, Paisley and Tillie. Though they were curious to learn more about support for people with disabilities, they were most excited to have the chance to meet Paisley and Tillie and give them each one of their favorite treats. After an afternoon with twenty elementary school scholars, Paisley and Tillie enjoyed a long nap!