West River Area Health Education Center

West river ahec healthcare career exploration events (grades 8-12):the wrahec reached a total of 2888 students in grades 8-12 during this fiscal year. The events included: wagner camp med/career fair, rcas stevens/central scrubs camp, women in scinece at sdsmt, spearfish scrubs camp, rcas central hosa students - anatomage table activitiy, pine ridge scrubs camp, sd hosa state conference, stevens high school healthcare pathways classes, women in science at bhsu in spearfish, cohort iii community impact project held for rc central hs students, summer nursing camp in spearfish, summer nursing camp in rapid city, cohort iv community impact project held at the children's home society in rockerville, sd, for children ages k-6 who have been removed from their parents custody, and sdsmt mole day for 8th grade students in rural western south dakota.these events are geared towards getting students excited and interested in the many types of healthcare careers. The following are a sampling of activities provided at these events: you are the cure video (13 min video on working in healthcare in western south dakota, you are the cure booklets (provide information on jobs, schooling required, where to go to school while staying in south dakota, and starting salary, 14' inflatable mega brain (students can walk through and around the inflatable brain to learn about many diseases of the brain as well as how to strive to keep their brains healthy), body interact 50" touch screen education simulator, anatomage digital dissection 50" touch screen, virtual dementia tour simulation, perception simulator (using occulus virtual reality headsets, cpr and choking maneuver skills, nutrition information, and we partnered with the midwest dairy association to provide the importance of dairy in our diets to students.

Community impact:wrahec implemented the third year of the department of labor, h-1b rural health care grant with partners: redfield community hospital, usd center for rural health improvement, and monument health. There has been many successes with upskilling students into high demand healthcare jobs like certified nursing assistant, licensed practical nursing, registered nursing, pre-nursing, bsn in nursing, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics across south dakota. This program is changing lives for the better with great paying and rewarding healthcare occupations while lessening the extreme workforce shortage south dakota has been facing. Wrahec also utilized this funding to provide two events for the community. The first event was mission:possible which is a behavioral health event which offers healthcare professionals continuing education credits for attending. This event includes nationally recognized speakers, local professionals, and community leaders to share engaging content about substance misuse and mental illness while providing many opportunities for networking with other professionals from across south dakota. This event was held during mid july of 2024. In addition, we hosted the 5th annual rural health equity summit in september 2024, where healthcare professionals from rural areas of south dakota come together to discuss critical issues affecting health equity in rural areas of the state. The 2024 summit was attended by over 100 people from across the state and hosted 11 speakers who addressed critical issues affecting health and outcomes for people living in rural areas of south dakota. This event was the catalyst for taking a statewide approach for working on healthcare workforce shortages. Finally, the wrahec is invited to many community events to display our 14' inflatable mega brain to teach people about keeping a healthy brain and body and how to minimize diseases of the brain.