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Henry Ford Early College Offers Free Program To Jump Start Wayne County High School Students Medical Career

(CBS DETROIT)- For 9th and 10th graders from the Henry Ford College early career school, taking the school bus to One Ford Place, the administrative offices for Henry Ford Hospital is not a field trip, it's a Wednesday.

"Grades 9-13, that means students come and they sign up for 5 years of education and they are focused on health careers," said Henry Ford College Early Career School Program Director Marva Brooks.

Those Careers are everything from respiratory therapist to nursing and anything that supports a health system.

The students take hands on courses at the facility one day a week.

"They can earn high school credit and college credits simultaneously and they can graduate with two years college credits and they can also finish a health careers degree," Brooks said.

Some students can go right into their career in a variety of jobs upon completing the program.

Something this 1st year student says, is pretty awesome.

"This program helps you experience different parts of the health field that helps you figure out what you really want to do and what your passionate about and that's really important in a job, you need to be passionate about whatever your working as," said Micah Mitchell, a 9th grader with Henry Ford College early career.

The program has been around since 2007 and has many success stories. Some graduates turned in their blue coats for white ones, now working for Henry Ford Health in jobs that are high demand, especially during the pandemic.

"We can help fill some of the voids in the health career deficit that's in our community we need all types of people to work in all types of health career fields," Brooks said.

The program is free and open to all Wayne County students the application process for 2022 starts in January.

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