Hospital helps disabled get jobs

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - One hospital is standing by their motto of people helping people.   

Rachel comes in to work every morning to the Rehab Center in Union Hospital. She puts on her gloves and gets to work making the center shine.  

 But there's one thing that makes Rachel's work stand out.

She's a student in Project Search.   

Project Search is a special program the hospital created for people with identifiable disabilities.   

The hospital pairs them with a job coach. That job coach checks on their progress throughout the program and helps them out if needed.   

The goal - for these young men and women to become gainfully employed after finishing the program.

“Our job is: how do we identify ways for these young men and women to get job skills that will allow them to be successful in the future,” said Scott Teffeteller, president and CEO of Union Hospital.   

The students work in patient care areas, the fitness center, and do clerical work.  

Teffeteller said they have successfully placed many of their graduates in jobs around the area.

“We’ve actually had the ability to hire three of our graduates here at Union Hospital. In between 70 to 80 percent of these young men and women have become gainfully employed throughout the Wabash Valley,” said Teffeteller.   

Teffeteller said sometimes it's hard to lose them to other businesses after graduation. These students become a part of the hospital family.   

But Teffeteller is thankful, knowing they've played a part in their success.

“It’s nice to be around. That’s what make sit exciting, because you’re making a difference…I do present at every graduation. I’ve told myself for the last three years, I’m not going to get emotional. But you can’t help it. You see these young men and women, they come in, their personalities blossom and they’re ready to take on the world,” said Teffeteller.

And Rachel is ready to take on the world, tackling her daily work with a giant grin.   

Union Hospital is in process of recruiting 2013 to 2014 class. The program accepts 18 to 24 year olds.

For more information about the recruitment process, you can call Union Hospital or the transition facilitator Peggy Escobedo at 812-238-7473 or email her at pescobedo@uhhg.org.