Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — A fiery plane crash followed by a big explosion. Several “victims” in need of immediate medical attention. Medical personnel jumping into action to provide treatment to the survivors.
Thankfully, this disaster was only part of The Aroostook Medical Center’s annual program designed to give area youth a glimpse of various medical professions. The simulation — one of the many health care-related activities campers participated in at this year’s Survivor Aroostook Camp — offered campers an opportunity to explore a number of health care careers. TAMC offers the program each year to incoming local high school freshmen from all over Aroostook County.
“Survivor is a week-long residential camp held at Northern Maine Community College,” said Tom Umphrey, senior vice president of human resources at TAMC. “It provides 60 campers with a chance to learn about careers in health care through hands-on activities and team-building exercises. Some of the careers campers learned about during the week were occupational therapy, dietary services, family medicine, pharmacy and dentistry.”
NMCC dorm space was used to house campers, with activities taking place on campus throughout the week.
Much like the television show it’s named after, the event had campers divided into tribes, with participants competing in various activities throughout the week. Most of the competitions were related to health care, with one tribe emerging the winner by the end of the week.
The disaster simulation — a downed aircraft — was the highlight of the week for many of the campers. Working alongside doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical professionals, as well as local law enforcement personnel, participants got the chance to experience what it might be like to respond to a real large-scale medical emergency.
“They started leading us to the site where the plane had crashed, and we heard sirens and saw fire trucks and EMTs,” said Survivor camper Rachel Dow. “Then we split into two groups, the EMTs and the emergency room staff. The EMTs went in and took care of the patients as best they could, and the ER nurses had to run to a building and scrub in for the ER. I was an ER doctor.”
The program is in its seventh year. Survivor Camp serves as a long-range recruitment strategy to address the growing need for new and replacement workers in certain health care-related occupations. The current health care workforce shortage — a growing concern both locally and in other communities across the country — is expected to grow in the coming years and decades. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that more than one million new nurses will be needed by 2016, and similar shortages are forecast for several other health care-related professions. This event exposes participants to a wide range of health-related careers in hopes that campers will consider career options in health care when planning for high school and college.
“I think Survivor Camp is necessary because a lot of kids don’t know what’s out there for options in Aroostook County,” said Mary Berube, Survivor Camp co-coordinator. “They think they have to move away to get a good-paying job. We have a lot of different careers available in health care in hospitals, home-care agencies, mental health agencies and in other areas. There are a lot of options in Aroostook County for them, and they can make a good wage and live a full life.”
According to Berube, camp organizers are encouraged by the results the camp has produced. Some campers who attended Survivor Camp in the early years of the program have already been hired by TAMC, and many former campers are pursuing health care-related careers in college.
“This is our seventh year, so our third-year campers are getting ready to go into their freshman year of college,” noted Berube. “We’re showing that at least a third of them are pursuing health care careers, and we hope that many of them are going to be returning to Aroostook County to provide those services for our patients.”
Each year, campers take with them much more than information on the various health care careers available. For the 2009 campers, the immediate value of Survivor went beyond the career exploration experience, with campers making new friends, developing leadership skills and, most of all, enjoying a week of fun.
“We started at the crack of dawn,” said Dow. “It was one thing after another and it was so fun and busy. I tried to keep a journal of what we did each day, but it was hard for me, because everything was so jam-packed. It was always active and fun.”
The camp costs organizers about $300 per camper to put on, but in order to ensure cost isn’t a barrier, families only pay $75 for the entire week. Contributions from local and regional businesses and organizations cover the rest of the cost. Participants came from all over Aroostook County to take part in this year’s event.
“The camp couldn’t be held without a wide variety of sponsors,” said Berube. “NMCC is a big part of our camp; we couldn’t put it on without their support. This year we had several major sponsors, including the University of New England, Maine AHEC, Husson College, Houlton Regional Hospital and then we have volunteers and financial supporters from all over the County participating.”
The Aroostook Medical Center is a member of EMHS. Members of EMHS work to ensure the highest quality of care is available to all who need it, especially those in rural Maine.
Photo courtesy of TAMC
SIMULATIONS were used to provide ‘hands-on training’ for this year’s participants in Survivor Aroostook Camp, held at NMCC in Presque Isle recently. The camp provides area youth with an opportunity to experience a variety of healthcare professions, with the goal of increasing interest in such fields as future careers.
