UMMC aims to reduce violence in school aged children, increase student attendance and support school readiness initiatives by funding and working with our partner schools. Our Future Workforce Program introduces youth to occupations in health care through internships, seminars, hospital tours and much more. These youth-focused programs play a pivotal role in supporting the surrounding community.
Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Health Care (BACH) Fellows
BACH provides rising high school seniors a six-week career-building workshop and paid work experience in a hospital setting. The initiative is designed to help allied health students focus their careers and plan a path to college or the workplace. UMMC strongly supports the effort of improving the pipeline from high school to health care jobs.
The University of Maryland Medical Center's University and Midtown Campuses have created a partnership with seven Baltimore City Public Schools:
Edmondson Westside High School
James McHenry Elementary and Middle School
Robert Coleman Elementary School
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School
Dorothy I. Height Elementary School
Matthew Henson Elementary School
Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy
UMMC works closely with our partnership schools by offering a range of supports and services for use by the students, their families and the community as a whole. Our efforts include:
Donating school supplies, uniforms and personal hygiene products
The loaner uniform program (donating a washer and dryer)
Sponsoring field trips
Back to school health event
Sponsored career day
Workforce development employment opportunities for parents
Professional development speaker series
School trauma violence and injury prevention program
Building Steps supplements students' classroom learning by exposing bright, under-served high school students to science and technology-based careers, helping them excel in these field where minorities are overwhelmingly underrepresented.
Building Steps Success Story | Tierra Strange
Tierra was introduced to the Building Steps Program by her 10th grade Language Arts teacher. Through the program, Tierra had support with applying for financial aid, applying to college and in taking college tours. The program also provided her key networking opportunities. She graduated from Dunbar High School as an EMT in 2005, and went on to complete her Bachelor's degree in Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University.
She started working as a transition care coordinator at UMMC Midtown campus in 2017, and is excited about the opportunity to work in a health care setting.
Cristo Rey
Cristo Rey students participate in a one-day-a-week internship program for 9 months to learn about the world of work, build confidence outside of the classroom, and learn to envision their own professional future.
Health Care Careers Alliance
Health Care Careers Alliance is a partnership between Civic Works and UMMC, which provides work readiness skills training, job training via internships and career coaching. Upon successful completion of the internship, youth are place into entry-level positions allowing them to pursue their career goals while helping UMMC address workforce shortages. This program has truly been a win-win for the Medical Center, as well as program participants.
Project Search is a one-year academic and internship program for Baltimore City high school seniors with disabilities. It is designed to help students obtain a competitive paying job in the workforce. The program takes place entirely in the hospital, where total immersion in the workplace facilitates teaching, learning, continuous feedback and application of new skills. In the on-site classroom component, students are instructed in work readiness skills, workforce civility and independent living skills.
SOS is a program that provides educational and employment services to students with disabilities. SOS assists inner-city youth in achieving their career goals and becoming independent and productive members of our community/ Students participate in paid internships, followed by job placement and support services. The SOS program has an outstanding success rate of preparing youth with disabilities for post-secondary education and/or competitive employment.
Urban Alliance students are provided with internships in professional settings to transition from high school to the world of work and/or into post-secondary education.
YouthWorks Summer Internship
YouthWorks is a summer jobs program sponsored by the Mayor's office for Baltimore City Youth. The program provides a 6-week internship for youth 14-21 years of age. The YouthWorks slogan "Summer Jobs Launch Careers" describes the lasting effect that a productive summer job can have on a young person. Through targeted matching of jobs to older teens' career interests and an emphasis on effective work behaviors and financial literacy for all participants, YouthWorks helps prepare our future workforce for successful careers.
Building Steps Success Story | Tierra Strange