Project SEARCH at Northwest Hospital Gets Boost from Bank of America Charitable Foundation

There were lots of smiles and thank yous at Northwest Hospital recently when Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave a $5,000 grant to The Arc Baltimore for the Project SEARCH program it operates at the hospital. The program focuses on the workforce training, development and placement of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The inaugural one year program at Northwest Hospital has eight adult interns who are learning skills so that they can become productive employees in the community. After daily classroom instruction, each intern receives hands-on experience at the hospital. Among the departments working with the interns are the Emergency Department, patient transportation, materials management, imaging and the cafeteria.

Participants graduate from the program after six months with the hope that they will be ready to join the workforce and become as independent as possible.

Sheppard Pratt Health System is also part of this partnership. There are Project SEARCH programs at three other sites in the area. The program at Northwest Hospital is the first one in Baltimore County