WMC has such a diverse choice of clubs that can appeal to all students’ interests. Among all these clubs, a new one, Future Healthcare Professionals has entered Central’s radar.
Future Health Care Professionals was founded by junior Jack LaBar and is advised by Mrs. Gizas. LaBar claims that his inspiration for starting the club was because of his, “experiences with healthcare and the industry of healthcare.” LaBar knows how hard entering the medical field is for high schoolers and he wants to make the process of gaining experience easier for others than it was for himself. When he found out that freshman Raima Bera was interested in starting a similar club, they combined forces, and Future Healthcare Professionals arose. When LaBar goes off to college, the plan is that Raima Bera will move up from her current position as vice president, and take over as president.
Future Healthcare Professionals Club is similar to an already existing national organization, Healthcare Students of America (HOSA), that has clubs in various different schools. The plan for the club is to eventually become HOSA, but to begin the process a charter is needed. For this charter to be secured, the club needs the interest of students who are in the club for the long term. For the time being, the club will be known as Future Healthcare Professionals, but once the charter is secured, the club hopes to be known as HOSA.
LaBar’s plans for the club involve passion projects that will provide students with opportunities to learn more about the different types of medical fields and to gain hands-on experience. He plans on offering chances at hands-on experience by having club members stitch up bananas and learn how to properly put on bandages. In addition, he wants to bring in some guest speakers who work in the medical field and can talk about their experiences and careers.
In order to earn funds for kits that can be used in various activities, the club has already hosted a fundraiser this year, with plans on having another one on Halloween. Pink eye stickers were sold earlier in the year, and on Halloween, the club plans on hosting a mummy wrapping fundraiser. This fundraiser will be held in the gym, where students are asked to put together a team of four, and one of the members will be wrapped in a roll of toilet paper. The team who is first to use up the whole roll is the winner! Through these fundraisers the club will be able to advance, and offer students more “real life” scenarios to work with.
The club recently had its first meeting on October 15th. Plenty of students showed up, and LaBar can’t wait to share his passion for healthcare with these students through the club. LaBar claims that this club is for students entering any type of healthcare. That doesn’t just mean doctors, it also means psychologists, athletic trainers, nurses, etc.
Freshman Layla DeMayo was at the first meeting and said that, “I feel like I’m gonna get a lot out of this club, just in general for the year, because I feel like there’s gonna be a lot of information that I’m gonna get.” She claimed that, “My friends dragged me there. I wasn’t originally going to join, but I ended up going with them, and I really liked it,” and now she can’t wait to be a member of the club!
Jack Labar realizes that healthcare isn’t for everyone, and he realizes that not everyone will become a doctor, but this club is a good way to assist students with finding their careers. LaBar said, “There are 100 things that healthcare is, and it’s important to recognize that those are also career paths, and those are also things that are necessary for our society to function. So it’s important that we promote those, especially in the high school setting, where students are currently trying to find their career and trying to find what they want to do in the future.”
Future Healthcare Professionals is a great addition to WMC and with the support of the students, the club will go far!
