Union College will host the Southern Kentucky Area Health Education Center (SoAHEC)’s 8^th annual Summer Health Career Camp June 20 – 23. High school students in Knox, Whitley, and Laurel counties are invited to register.

Through hands-on activities, a variety of guest speakers, and offsite field trips, students will get to explore a range of health careers, including nursing, phlebotomy, athletic training, pathology, and radiology.

New this year, students will get certified in CPR and First Aid during the three days. Other activities include performing blood-typing tests, animal dissection, and using Union’s life-size, virtual human dissection table, the Anatomage. Students will also shadow health care professionals at Barbourville Appalachian Regional Hospital (ARH) and participate in a team-building ropes course at Eastern Kentucky University.

“The students always enjoy the activities and field trips,” says Dr. Marisa Greer, Union’s Executive Vice President and Provost. Greer has been a SoAHEC board member since 2005 and became the Chair of the Advisory Board last year. She started the camp at Union in 2016.

All camp activities, as well as breakfast and lunch, are provided free of charge to students. Funding for the camp is made possible through a combination of state and federal grants, as well as partnerships between SoAHEC, Union College, Barbourville ARH, and Rockcastle Regional Hospital.

SoAHEC is one of eight regional Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) across the Commonwealth. AHEC is a national organization committed to improving healthcare access, especially in underserved regions of the United States. Through strategic partnerships with academic institutions like Union and community providers like Barbourville ARH, regional AHECs aim to build up the workforce of health care professionals who will serve their home communities.

Dendra Allen, SoAHEC’s Post-Secondary Health Career Coordinator, says the camp is a good opportunity for “anyone who is interested or who wants to see if they are interested in a health career.”

The registration deadline is June 13. Rising high school freshmen through seniors can sign up here: https://soahec.org

Parents will be responsible for transporting students to and from campus each day.

SoAHEC provides many additional educational opportunities and resources in the region and also offers a Summer Health Careers Camp in Mt. Vernon for students from Rockcastle and surrounding counties.

For questions or more information, contact Sherry Spragens at sspragens@soahec.org.