Health Science Academy
Overview
The La Crosse Health Science Academy is a two-year program preparing high school juniors and seniors for education and careers in the Health Science industry. The program provides thematic instruction, career exploration, job shadows, clinical experience, health science labs, mentoring by health professionals, research, certification and internship opportunities for students.
About Us
The La Crosse Health Science Academy was kicked off in the fall of 2009 through a partnership between the La Crosse School District and Gundersen Health System through the La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium (LMHSC), a collaborative effort between Gundersen Health System, Mayo Clinic Health System, The University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, Viterbo University, and Western Technical College.
Purpose
The La Crosse Health Science Academy was created for three primary reasons: to improve diversity, create opportunities for students, and develop long-term workforce strategies.
• Recruit students from diverse backgrounds that have great potential, may not have been otherwise exposed to opportunities in healthcare and may need some mentoring, and are underrepresented in the healthcare industry.
• Assist students in identifying if a healthcare profession is truly an area of interest for them prior to enrolling in the college program. Provide the appropriate level of classes, creating a natural transition for college and exposing students to a higher education atmosphere.
• Recruit students into healthcare professions – creating awareness for a variety of positions within the healthcare industry (not just nursing or physicians, but all facets of healthcare including administration) and creating a future pipeline of local talent.
Course Sequence
Academy Courses
Junior Year
• Anatomy & Physiology
• Exercise Physiology
• Health Occupations 1
• AP Psychology*
Senior Year
• Medical Terminology*
• Advanced Anatomy & Physiology
• Intro to Global Health*
• Advanced Health Occupations*
Your choice of:
– Certified Nursing Assistant
– Advanced Health Topics
– Youth Health Science Apprenticeship
– Global Partners Experience in Pine Ridge
– Medical Assistant Certification
– Medical Mentorship (variety of areas)
*Dual credit opportunity
Experiences
Students are exposed to outstanding learning opportunities within the “real world” of healthcare through job shadow experiences at both local healthcare institutions. A healthcare mentor is assigned to each student based on interest. Mentors meet with students on a regular basis, provide them with guidance on their education and career, and interact with them both professionally and privately. Students receive guidance on college admission, as well as college testing preparation. Community service and volunteering is a large component of the program.
Graduation
The academy continues to maintain relationships with the students, post-graduation. The ultimate goal of the program is to have the students obtain higher-level education in a health professions field and stay in, or return to, the La Crosse area to live and work. Therefore, we continue to provide them with resources after they have graduated such as interview skills, resume development, networking, and scholarships.
Business Partners
Through a strong partnership, the La Crosse School District and Gundersen Health System have launched a successful initiative. Through other academy models we researched, those that were most successful had an engaged business partner. As a business partner, involvement has been in the development of the program, contributing some initial start up and research costs (laptops, recruitment mailings, travel expenses, student badges), as well as resources for mentors, job shadows, and healthcare related education (CNA, CPR, HIPAA, etc.).
To learn more about our partners, please visit the following websites:
Gundersen Global and Community Partners
La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium – Health Science Center