Helping to build successful lives and strengthening our community.

Project Search is a business led High School Transition program hosted by Health First, Inc. that enables young adults with disabilities to gain and maintain employment through training and career exploration and on site follow-along services!

Our partners in this collaboration: Brevard County School System Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) State of Florida Vocational Rehabilitation

Building internships and young professionals that employers can’t live without!

In February 2007 the First Project SEARCH Site in Floridastarted at Health First in Brevard County.

Additional sites that followed:

Pensacola JacksonvilleBaptist Hospital Shands Hospital/University of FloridaGulf Breeze Hospital Santa Rosa Hospital HollywoodUniversity of West Florida Bethesda Hospital

West Palm Beach OrlandoMiramar Hospital Rosen Shingle Creek Resort and Conference CenterBethesda Hospital Service Center Florida Hospital Winter Park Bethesda Hospital Service Center Florida Hospital East

MiamiCity of Miami TallahasseeDade County Zoo Leon County Commissioner's Office City of Hialeah

Stuart HudsonMartin Memorial Hospital Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point

North Bay HospitalMelbourneHealth First, Inc. CCHHealth First, Inc. HRMC City of Palm Bay

Program statistics: February 2007 – December 2011

• 80 individuals (adults & students) have been served through Project Search at Health First, Inc.

• 51 individuals have obtained employment in Brevard County. 64% placement rate

• Health First has hired 43 Project SEARCH Graduates(adults & students)

• As a vocational training and employment program Project SEARCH provides: Job Coaching, On-the-Job-Training, continued support and assistance for businesses in Brevard County. .

• Off site we provide assistance for businesses in Brevard County by matching the abilities of people with disabilities to real jobs, free of charge.

Visit our website: www.health-first.org/projectsearch

Building internships and young professionals that employers can’t live without!

The Goal of the programis

Employment!

People tend to become what they think we expect them to be.

You can set people up for success or failure by your expectations.

If you communicate to the people around you that you expect them not to succeed, they probably will not.

During Health First’s Project SEARCH program the student interns are treated like employable young adults that they’re likely to become.

• The best salesmen expect customers to buy their product. • The best executives expect employees to have creative ideas. • The best speakers expect audiences to be interested. • The best leaders expect people to want to follow.

The Project SEARCH Program

• By design the program simultaneously changes corporate culture and the receptivity of the workplace to employing people with disabilities.

• Project SEARCH creates opportunities for companies to meet and get to know people with disabilities on familiar ground and in a positive non- threatening way.

The Power of Presence - changes culture or practice.

• The Project SEARCH internship program at HF is doing more than

just providing valuable work experiences for the student interns.

• Project SEARCH takes twelve student interns, in the course of a year, and moves them through four departments where they are learning real skills, you immediately begin to change culture in an organization.

The Power of Presence in Action.

• Throughout the course of the workday, interns interact with many of the departments in the hospital.

• Relationships are built, talents recognized, attitudes are changed, misconceptions are corrected.

• Internships and job opportunities open up and soon well trained graduates are being hired into regular Health First positions.

Building a Business Culture that expects Job Success

• Within the business • The family/ individual

• The service provider

How Business Culture changed at Health First

We adjusted our Expectations:• To believe with confidence, or think it likely, that an event will happen in

the future.

• Wait for an anticipated thing: To look forward to, something that is believed to be going to happen.

We learned to Anticipate:• Expect something: to think or be fairly sure that something will happen.

Always Promoting Professionalism:• The skill, competence, or character expected of a member of a highly

trained profession.

What is culture?

The set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic.

Shared beliefs and values of a group – the beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular group of people.

Jocelyn – Housekeeping HRMC-hired July 07

Business Culture Changes by providing well trained candidates.

An individual must add value to the

business

Anthony – Assistant II, hired March 2011

Business Culture changes by anticipating the needs of the business

Lamar - hired June 2008

Business Culture changes by identifying business job expectations &

performance goals

Business Culture changes by matching the intern’s personality and

identified talent or skills

Business Culture changes by setting the “Bar” high

Sandi – Human Resource Office Tech hired May 2010

Jessica – Nursing Support assistant

hired April 2008

Business Culture changes by believing in the intern/employee.

Ryan – Dietary cashier, cold food prep, server, runner

-hired December 2011

Business Culture changes by not pre-judging

the individuals abilities

Chad

Anthony

Business Culture changes by focusing on outcomes (not processes)

Mark – Nursing Support Assistant – hired March 2010

Pete – Transport/pumps HRMC hired March 07

What we have learned.

• Don’t underestimate the impact your perceptions have on outcomes.

• Understand what the employer needs.

• Let it begin with us. The Project SEARCH staff.

• Public Relations are 24/7.