As the demand for hospital staff to support both direct and non-direct  patient care operations rises, the School District of Philadelphia and Temple University Hospital are teaming up to provide students with skills, knowledge and hands-on experience to pursue a career in a traditional healthcare setting, working in nontraditional roles. The program aims to address the ongoing shortage of Rehabilitation Aides, Food Service workers and Materials Handlers; careers that support the foundation of the healthcare workers and create a more diverse workforce by connecting qualified Career and Technical Education (CTE) students to entry-level opportunities that are available upon graduation.

“We are grateful to Temple University Hospital for this new partnership, which provides students with meaningful work opportunities and internships relevant to today’s economy,” said Tony B. Watlington, Sr., Ed.D. “Connecting students to their career interests through career readiness and trade exposure is critical to student success post graduation, so we are thrilled to show students opportunities available to them in the healthcare industry.”

Six seniors have been selected for the inaugural internships:

• Xiomarys Casillas, Mastbaum, Temple Department: Food Service
• Tiffany Horton, Randolph, Temple Department: Food Service
• Javonne Robinson, Randolph, Temple Department: Materials Handler
• Tyleem Langston, Ben Franklin, Temple Department: Materials Handler
• Sharai Rollins, Mastbaum, Temple Department: Rehab Aide
• Jahmeen Ross, Mastbaum, Temple Department: Rehab Aide

Students were invited to apply for the paid internships. The program was open to seniors enrolled in their third year of one of the following CTE programs – Health Related Technology (HRT), Advanced Manufacturing-Automotive, Culinary Arts or Baking & Hospitality programs. Students will be interning within the Rehabilitation, Food Service and Material Management departments.

“We are proud to be partnering with the School District of Philadelphia on this new program,” said Abhinav Rastogi, MBA, MIS, President and CEO of Temple University Hospital and Executive Vice President of Temple University Health System. “We feel this is an important opportunity to further engage with and give back to our community by providing students learning opportunities in a healthcare setting to help them pursue a future career in healthcare, while at the same time providing Temple with an additional resource for hiring future members on our team from the City of Philadelphia.”

There will be a “Welcome/Orientation Breakfast” for new interns this morning. Students will intern through December.

​​This is not the only healthcare pathway program available to District CTE students. Through a partnership with St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, high school students in the HRT CTE Program have the opportunity to learn about all aspects of the healthcare industry and gain hands-on experience in the field at St. Christopher’s Hospital. Through a partnership with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Franklin Learning Center (FLC)’s medical assistant program students can be hired by CHOP and supported through their transition from high school into the professional world with a six-month medical assistant fellowship program that goes beyond CHOP’s regular onboarding.

The District offers 120 total CTE programs throughout more than 30 high schools and serves nearly 6,000 students. Students enrolled in these programs acquire both technical and academic skills by industry professionals, using state-of-the-art equipment in over 40 occupational areas. Students also have the opportunity to earn industry-recognized certifications related to their respective career focus.

For more information about the District’s CTE programming, please visit https://www.philasd.org/cte/.