Nine participants of the Project SEARCH program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center celebrated the completion of their nine-month internship training on Friday, May 20, in the theater of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Project SEARCH began in 2005 as a means to fill business needs with qualified people living with developmental disabilities. The nine-month unpaid internship offers students/interns free job training, educational development and employment opportunities at Children’s Hospital, Vanderbilt University Hospital, The Vanderbilt Clinic, Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks and Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital.
Family, friends and co-workers cheered on the recent graduates, most of whom have secured employment at Children’s Hospital. Since 2005, 122 interns with intellectual and developmental disabilities have graduated from Project SEARCH, and 104 individuals have been hired, placing it as one of the top performing programs in the world.
