CVEP/Health Career Connection Interns – Where Are They Now?

Health Career Connection (HCC) is a national nonprofit that provides college students, recent graduates and alumni with paid, full-time internships in healthcare fields. This unique internship program is offered in the Coachella Valley in partnership with the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP). The HCC/CVEP ten-week internship program provides underrepresented local college students with opportunities to… Read more »

Middle School Students JUMP at Careers in Healthcare

HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) – JUMP (Junior Upcoming Medical Professionals) is a student-led organization designed to be a stepping-stone for 7th to 8th graders interested in entering the health science and medical technology field.  Through the program, HOSA-JUMP members have the opportunity to participate in career exploration through guest speakers, field trips, and… Read more »

AHA’s Cardiovascular Youth Academy Pilot Program

Taking a lead role in the community, a group of students joined together with American Heart Association professionals to help spread awareness of cardiovascular health. Five students from Cathedral City High School’s Health Environmental Academy of Learning (HEAL) Medical Health Academy and three students from Palm Desert High School’s Health Academy have teamed up to… Read more »

Palm Springs High School (PSHS) Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) Chapter: The Future Looks Bright

Palm Springs High School Academy of Learning Medicine (PALM) students are learning skills not often seen in the traditional classroom, thanks to advisory meetings with local business partners. With input from local health care practitioners, PALM staff members have incorporated lessons into their curriculum which emphasize career-related soft skills, such as verbal communication and presentation… Read more »

Planting Seeds of Health in Valley Youth

Thanks to the Clinton Foundation’s Alliance for a Healthier Generation, 80 Coachella Valley schools representing all three districts now have wellness programs. Palm Springs Unified was the first district to create a Wellness Committee three years ago.  The Coachella Valley District has incorporated a Wellness Policy developed and run by students and their families. Desert… Read more »

Thank You for Investing in Me

One of the utmost things that I love about living in the Coachella Valley is the extensive health initiatives embedded throughout our desert communities. Within these precincts lie the Desert Healthcare District (DHCD), UC Riverside (UCR), and the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP), which have similar visions that parallel my own: to ultimately improve the… Read more »

The Gold Standard Internship Program

Health Career Connection (HCC) is a national, non-profit organization that provides under-represented or disadvantaged college students and recent graduates with a ten-week paid internship in a health related field. This summer marked the return of the HCC internship program, the only one of its kind in the Coachella Valley. The number of interns in the… Read more »

CVHS Students Aspire to be Medical Professionals

“Why do I need to know that,” Jasmine spurts out – even before I could summarize the informational articles for rhetorical persuasion lesson. “Well,” I attempt to patiently return, “if you can’t persuade people of what you want, you probably won’t get it.” This seems to work; there’s some moderate buy-in. Following a flurry of… Read more »

Students Develop Skills and Compassion at We Care Dental Center

When 24-year-old Western University dental student Angela Hastings started volunteering at the We Care Dental Center in Rancho Mirage, she thought the experience would help increase her clinical knowledge and dental skills. What she didn’t expect was that it would also help her develop an intense feeling of compassion for developmentally disabled children and adults–a… Read more »