DES MOINES, Iowa — The TECH & TEACH program at Broadlawns Medical Center is an apprenticeship for adults and students interested in working in healthcare.  

The program provides hands-on experience and educational opportunities for adults with employment barriers and high schoolers identified as at-risk, all while prioritizing participants from the 50314 and 50316 zip codes, areas with some of the highest poverty and unemployment levels in Des Moines. 

The program is changing not only careers, but lives.

“We could take people from the community, get them skills to work in the hospital. So, it’s almost like we created our own incubator,” said Program Director Dennis Henderson.

An experience hand-tailored to set participants up for success when entering healthcare-related careers.  

“It’s a lot more fun when we’re actually doing hands-on and actually seeing the help that we’re doing within the hospital,” said Caleb Gavin, a current program participant.

While allowing those who might not otherwise imagine themselves in a professional space.  

“Barriers to good employment can mean different things to different people. It can be only having entry-level jobs; it could be having a criminal background. There are several things that cause us to believe that you have a barrier,” said Henderson.  

The program helps to break through those barriers by providing cultural training, soft skills, and financial literacy in addition to hands-on experience.  

“I just didn’t think I was ready, but then, like last year, right before I joined the class, I was looking for that transition in life and I just jumped on the website and there it was … Now I’m showing my kids an establishment of what they can do with themselves instead of just being at a dead-end job,” said Carl Lamar, a program graduate and Broadlawns employee.

While the TEACH program focuses on adults, the TECH program centers around high schoolers interested in healthcare, and gives them a competitive advantage over their peers. 

“I didn’t really know what to do when I first graduated because I knew I needed that clinical experience, but I didn’t know how to get it. So, joining the tech program really set me up for success,” said Tae’ Shaun Presswood, a program graduate and pre-med student at the University of Iowa.   

“So, a person could come out of this situation with a lot of college education, a lot of skills, and they’re in a good position to have jobs here for a lifetime,” said Henderson.

For some, the program signals more than just a title change, but rather a larger change in their lives.  

“If you would have told me where I would be right now a year ago, I would have laughed, you know, I wouldn’t have thought that I would be working in a hospital,” said Gavin.  

After struggling with mental health and addiction, Caleb’s life is now on a completely different path, with his sights set on graduation and future goals of being a social worker. 

“So, I want to be able to help them back out into the community in a gentle way. And I can relate to them. So, it’s not just like I’m trying to tell them what to do. You know, they can see that I’ve struggled with it and then got myself out of the depth of mental health,” said Gavin

All thanks to a program that gave back to him first. 

“I mean, what’s better than that? Yeah, and you could see that growth and you could see that effect on people,” said Henderson.