Barrington, Ill. - Good Shepherd Hospital will conduct its Future Healthcare Professionals Program July 13 through August 7.  The program will meet Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Future Healthcare Professionals Program is offered to high school seniors interested in pursuing careers in medicine and allied health fields including nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapies, radiology, pharmacy, dietary and laboratory.

The program provides students a unique opportunity.  "Normally high school students cannot come in to a hospital and observe the different health care roles in action," said Renee Norberg, Manager of Clinical Education at Good Shepherd Hospital.  "There is so much within the hospital. The students are exposed to different roles, causing them to possibly pursue different career paths." 

Eight students have been selected to take part in the Future Healthcare Professionals Program.  The students completed a written application, interviewed with a panel of several hospital employees and demonstrated extraordinary individual merit to earn a spot in the program.  The students include:

Kailey Bachner           Cary-Grove High School, Cary, Ill.

Kaitlyn Bang               Harry D. Jacobs High School, Algonquin, Ill.

Tara Darnell                Lake Zurich High School, Lake Zurich, Ill.

Ina Joshi                      William Fremd High School, Palatine, Ill.

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Neema Patel                Lake Zurich High School, Lake Zurich, Ill.

Regina Rubio              Elgin High School, Elgin, Ill.

Sam Salem                  Lake Zurich High School, Lake Zurich, Ill.

Kaitlyn Wilde             Cary-Grove High School, Cary, Ill.

Kaitlyn Bang's mother is the reason she wants to be a Future Healthcare Professional.  Bang's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2008.  Through her firsthand experiences caring for patients and the tough battles she endures with he mother, Bang realizes her dream is to nurture others and find a cure for cancer.

The student's interest in a particular field will guide his or her observations during the program.  Experts within the various fields will provide guidance and mentoring to students throughout the four week program.

This will be the fifth year Good Shepherd Hospital offers the Future Healthcare Professionals Program. 

About Good Shepherd Hospital

Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington is a medical care facility with approximately 700 physicians representing 45 medical specialties. Highly skilled physicians and clinical professionals provide a comprehensive range of services including advanced surgical procedures.  For 30 years, Good Shepherd Hospital has been providing its patients and communities with quality, compassionate health care, wellness programs and community education.   It is a leader in delivering the most advanced technologies and techniques available in the northwest suburbs. Good Shepherd is part of Advocate Health Care, one of the top 10 health care systems in the country, and the largest health care delivery system in Illinois.

Good Shepherd Hospital is a recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, one of six Illinois hospitals and one of 66 hospitals recognized nationally with the prestigious award.  It is the first hospital in Illinois to offer SAVI brachytherapy (pinpointed radiation) for the treatment of breast cancer, and one of the few regional sites to provide Image-Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT).   

For more about Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, please visit www.advocatehealth.com/gshp.

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