Supply, N.C. - Brunswick Community Hospital recently hosted 20 middle school students from Leland Middle, Cedar Grove Middle and Waccamaw School for MASH Camp, an interactive, two-day career program designed to introduce students to health care careers in their own community. The program was held in partnership with the South East Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC).

???MASH Camp utilizes hands-on techniques to encourage youth to pursue a health-related career, with the eventual goal of serving in their own communities,??? said Sonali Batish, MPH, SEAHEC camp organizer. ???We strive to make it a fun and educational experience for the students.???

Students were given a teddy bear and corresponding patient scenario. The students then followed their bear through the hospital, from the ambulance to the emergency department to radiology and lab services. Along the way, students met numerous medical professionals and experienced ???Theodina Bear???s??? and ???Teddy Junior???s??? medical treatment firsthand.

This year was the second consecutive year that Brunswick Community Hospital hosted MASH Camp. Rita Trivette, RN, clinical educator, and Becky Whiteside, RN, clinical analyst, served as tour guides for the students, and numerous other physicians, nurses, and staff spoke to the students as they visited hospital departments. In addition, Brunswick County Emergency Services paramedics toured the students through one of the county???s ambulances.

???Each of the students who attended MASH Camp seemed to truly enjoy their experience, and I believe they all learned a lot about health careers,??? said Trivette. ???By the end of the two days, many of the students had new ideas about the type of health care career they would like to pursue.???

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