Employers, educators counsel high-schoolers about opportunities

By JACOB RESNECK

SARANAC LAKE -- In an effort to stem an exodus of young people from the area, health-care employers are reaching out to high-school students to advertise local careers.

Representatives from Adirondack Medical Center and the Canton-based Northern Area Health Education Center continued their tour of the North Country this week, stopping at Saranac Lake Central High School to counsel 11th- and 12th-graders about health-career prospects in the region.

"There are plenty of opportunities that you will see," High School teacher Tricia Preston told a morning wellness class. "There is a shortage in the North County of professionals in all of these areas. They're going to give you the opportunity, what salary ranges there could be and what education you might need for these areas."

FACING A CHALLENGE

Jessica Darney Buehler, manager of the Adirondack Wellness Network, explained that outreach for recruiting has been made easier by partnering with local schools.

"We're networking to try to engage kids in trying to explore health careers. So we're networking with the hospital and the school and kids."

Many graduating seniors may be skeptical that they can find good-paying jobs in the region, Buehler said. The goal of the program is to introduce young adults to good-paying health-care opportunities through a Web site: www.myhealthcareer.org.

Health-care advocates admit their task is challenging.

"I've asked several classes whether they want to stay in northern New York or not, and, really, not too many kids want to stay," said Lynn Sorel, a program assistant with Northern Area Health Education Center.

"So what we're really trying to do is attract them to the area and tell them that there is a lot more out there, especially in health care."

STUDENTS EYE FUTURE

When Sorel polled the 21 students in one morning class, only a few said they didn't know what they wanted to do after graduation. The response impressed Sorel, who admitted she hadn't had a clear idea after high-school graduation.

Two 18-year-old seniors said they are already interested in pursuing health-care careers.