Five Physicians Regional Healthcare System health professionals recently took the stage at Immokalee High School to address over 250 Immokalee Foundation middle and high school students, their parents, Foundation Postsecondary Program members, and Foundation Alumni.
The presentation was part of a dynamic, multi-year relationship between the healthcare system and the non-profit educational foundation. Physicians Regional has unwritten the costs of the Foundation’s Healthcare Pathway Educational Summer Camp at Florida Gulf Coast University for three years. During the same period, Physicians Regional has hosted Immokalee Foundation student interns at their Pine Ridge and Collier Boulevard locations.
“As an organization, we have a responsibility to address present-day healthcare needs while proactively planning for the growing demand for care in the years to come,” said Scott Lowe, Physicians Regional Market CEO. “Through their Healthcare Pathway out-of-school curriculum, The Immokalee Foundation has created a pipeline of dedicated talent, and it’s our obligation to make meaningful contributions to their educational process whenever and however we can.”
For 33 years, The Immokalee Foundation has been preparing the next generation of leaders through a 100% focus on education, career readiness, and professional development for students in Immokalee—from kindergarten through postsecondary education.
Though access to professionals through field trips and career panels are common elements of Immokalee Foundation programming, this specific event was the largest career panel ever hosted by The Immokalee Foundation. Intending to represent the variety of careers available in healthcare, the panelists included Scott Lowe, Physicians Regional Market CEO; Karim
Mamdouh Ghanem, Market Chief Operating Officer; Dr. Richard Vilchez, Hospitalist; Joel Olano, Director of Radiology and Valeria Gonzalez, Director of Nursing, Medical Surgical Department.
Also unique was the inclusion of a Job Fair, enabling parents, postsecondary students, and eligible alumni direct access to information on available careers at the various Physicians Regional facilities.
“Physicians Regional is a gift to our Healthcare Pathway students,” said Immokalee Foundation President and CEO Noemi Y. Perez. “By consistently providing such extraordinary opportunities to these young people, Physicians Regional’s already sizable impact will be felt even more powerfully throughout the community in the years ahead. The future really is now.”
