ALTON - Middle schoolers have the chance to learn more about healthcare careers at an upcoming day camp at OSF St. Anthony’s Hospital.
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From 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, students will explore a Survival Flight helicopter, complete CPR stations, chart their vitals, play games and participate in a panel discussion with healthcare professionals. Nurses Sara Clohessy, Gina Coates and Melissa Hartnett, who organized the Health Camp, look forward to teaching students about the different career pathways in the medical field.
“People tend to think ‘nurse’ and ‘doctor’ when they think ‘healthcare’ and ‘hospital.’ We just want to show that there are so many other pieces here,” said Clohessy, MSN, RN, Clinical Nurse Educator. “I did a program similarly when I was in the eighth grade, and I still remember it to this day.”
The Health Camp is open to students who just completed the seventh and eighth grades. It is completely free to attend, though space is limited and registration is required.
Breakfast and snacks will be provided. Clohessy noted that while they have an itinerary, the day will remain “fluid” as they engage with the students, promote conversations, and learn from each other.
Coates, MSN, RN, Discharge Navigator, explained that their aim is to open kids’ eyes to the possibilities in healthcare. People from across the OSF St. Anthony’s network will be involved in the panel discussion, with the goal of showing students that everybody — from IT to marketing to dietary to nursing — has their place in the hospital’s success.
“We really want to show them all the working wheels of the hospital,” Coates said. “What all it takes for a hospital to run and take care of patients. You don’t have to be a doctor or nurse. There’s so many other entities and roles that they could go into.”
Hartnett, BSN, RN, Medical Surgical Clinical Supervisor, shared that she always dreamed of becoming a nurse, while Coates and Clohessy discovered their paths later in life. The three nurses agreed that their goal is to “plant the seed” to encourage kids to pursue healthcare or consider working in a hospital setting.
“I think so many kids go off to college and they don’t really know exactly what they’re wanting to do as far as a career,” Hartnett explained. “We’re just hoping to catch them young and spark that interest.”
They also plan to inform the students about OSF St. Anthony’s education payback program and encourage them to start thinking about college. Their goal is to help the students on their paths to becoming the next generation of healthcare workers in the region.
“If we start then a little younger, maybe we can plant those seeds,” Clohessy added. “We really want the kids to come and be engaged. We don’t want this to be a ‘we teach you, you listen’ thing. It’s going to be very fluid as the day goes on. We’ve got our itinerary, but I think we’re just going to kind of see how it goes and hopefully do it again next year.”
For more information about OSF St. Anthony’s Health Camp, including how to register your child, email healthcarecampforkids@osfhealthcare.org or click here.
