On August 14, Seminole County’s top brass got the first look at Seminole High School’s newest cutting-edge program: the new and improved Academy of Health Careers facility.
Dr. Shawn Gard-Harrold, assistant superintendent of EPathways and one of the driving forces behind this project, gave district leaders a tour of the nearly $3 million revitalization of the Academy of Health Careers facility, a program designed to prepare high school students for careers in healthcare. He said that the facility “has been a labor of love… for over three years” until its recent ribbon-cutting.
“I am thrilled… to be able to provide a modernized environment for our students to interact with patients, to get that hands-on experience,” he said.
The state-of-the-art facility has been designed to replicate real-world environments for healthcare professionals, including a hospital lab complete with seven hospital beds and a reception desk.
Seminole High School fitted out the facility with new and innovative equipment, including artificial disassemblable cadavers and an Anatomage machine, where students can create custom digital cadavers to study and work on, as well as standard tools such as incubators and centrifuges.
In updated classrooms, students were learning about infectious diseases and how to properly wear sterilized medical gear. Previous stadium-style lecture halls have been changed into open-concept classrooms, with the hospital lab taking the place of nine former classrooms.
Seminole High School senior Madison was elated at the new and improved facility, sharing that she was “absolutely blown away and grateful” for the opportunities the new spaces provide to students. “I think that real-life simulation will help prepare all us students for what’s to come,” she said.
Other speakers at the ribbon-cutting included Seminole County Public Schools superintendent Serita Beamon and Seminole High School principal Michael Pfieffer. Special guests included Seminole County school board member Abby Sanchez and state senator Jason Brodeur, who were honored for helping secure funding for the project. Former congresswoman Stephanie Murphy was also thanked for earmarking over $500,000 for the complete overhaul of the Academy of Health Sciences.
An impressive aspect of the project is that four major healthcare forces of Central Florida have teamed up to provide Seminole High students with immersive healthcare experiences: AdventHealth, Orlando Health, UCF Health, and Nemours Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Gard-Harrold was quick to mention that this renovation is only the first step in a series of upgrades to the Academy of Health Sciences. Coming soon to Seminole High students will be a “sim rig” embedded within a classroom, allowing students to go onboard an ambulance and practice administering aid.
