BETHALTO/COTTAGE HILLS - The Medical Careers classes at Civic Memorial High School will host a fundraiser to buy medical training supplies.
Taught by Angie Parish, Medical Careers 1 and 2 cover basic medical skills and encourage students to pursue medical careers after graduation. On Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, the classes will host a virtual golf outing at Grip & Sip in Cottage Hills. All proceeds go toward the classes to buy supplies.
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“I’m just giving them an opportunity, and the kids are running with it,” Parish said. “They just need that opportunity out there. The community support is absolutely amazing, and I can’t thank the community enough for what they’re doing for us.”
Golfing starts at 10 a.m. on Dec. 14. It costs $100 for a two-person team and nine holes of golf. For $10, attendees can also enjoy a putting contest and a chipping contest, where the winners get half of the pot. The silent auction will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Parish noted that many local businesses have contributed products and gift cards for the auction.
She encourages people to come out and enjoy the day whether they decide to golf or not. Attendees will also get the chance to mingle with Medical Careers students and learn more about the classes.
Currently, students just started the phlebotomy unit, where they are learning how to handle needles and insert IVs using special phlebotomy pads with simulated veins. They recently completed Stop the Bleed, a project that uses fake blood to teach students how to effectively clot and dress a wound.
All of these projects require medical supplies. But above all else, Parish hopes they raise enough money to purchase a CPR mannequin. This special mannequin can tell students if they are correctly doing the chest compressions, and Parish said it’s much more realistic than the foam mannequins on which most people learn CPR.
“More people need to know how to do [CPR],” Parish explained. “If we buy this, I would love to be able to have it used in multiple areas, so that a lot of people can get more hands-on and understand the use of CPR and what it really is. I would like for teachers to be able to use it when they teach, when the nurses come in and teach CPR for them, as opposed to the foam mannequins that we have. They’re great, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the same. I’ve done CPR on people…and I get it, and you need realistic things. If you don’t have that, you don’t really get it.”
Parish believes CPR is one of the most important skills that students learn in her class, and she believes the mannequin will help more students at Bethalto and beyond to get the experience they need. She is hopeful that the Grip & Sip fundraiser will make it possible for them to afford the mannequin in addition to the other supplies needed to continue the classes.
She noted that the students have worked hard to succeed in the Medical Careers classes, and she is proud of how they have grown in the past few semesters. She hopes the classes continue to expand, and she encourages the community to support these future medical leaders at the Dec. 14, 2024, fundraiser.
“It’s incredible, absolutely incredible, to watch my students survive the fear factor, because it is a survival,” she added. “They walk in and they’re terrified, and they’re like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ And by week two, they’re like, ‘I’ve got this. I can do this. I can totally do this.’”
For more information about the Medical Careers classes fundraiser, including how to register a team, call Civic Memorial High School at (618) 377-7230 or email Parish directly at aparish@bethalto.org.
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