CLC Brings Mobile Healthcare Unit to Pequot Lakes High School

Central Lakes College has a new initiative that is introducing individuals to the many career pathways healthcare presents, opening the next generation’s eyes to what’s possible in the profession.

CLC’s mobile healthcare unit was made possible through a $4.2 million Pathways to Accessing Training in Healthcare (PATH) grant. Jennifer Chock, the college’s Healthcare Outreach Specialist, is exposing students in five different central Minnesota counties to what a career in healthcare entails.

“We want to make sure we’re reaching students that are in rural areas, students that are BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of color], students that might not think that they have the capacity to go into health care,” explained Chock.

The mobile unit has all the works like real needles and supplies donated from various local medical facilities such as Lakewood Health. The unit stopped by Brainerd High School on Tuesday and was parked at Pequot Lakes high School’s career fair the next morning.

“I have little mannequins that [you] can give injections to,” said Chock. “Anything hands-on, engaging has been really enjoyed by students.”

Along with discussing different healthcare careers such as nursing, surgical tech, and radiological tech, Chock took the time to answer any and all questions the Pequot Lakes student body had.

“A lot of students are concerned about the cost of college, so a lot of scholarship questions, a lot of questions about maybe careers in healthcare that don’t involve blood,” she said. “So we also have coding, scribes, different careers that are not so hands-on. So sometimes we look into those options, too.”

Given the shortage of workers in healthcare, Central Lakes College is striving to play a pivotal part in educating the next generation on the industry’s many career pathways through initiatives like the mobile healthcare unit.

“Our kids are taking that step from, ‘Okay, I’ve had it academically. Now what does that look like in reality? And then how do I now become informed as to what kind of basis for skills, for training, for education?’ said Pequot Lakes High School Principal Aaron Nelson. “Our kids are constantly wanting to know more and we feel like we’re less able than our business partners and certainly with CLC to answer those questions. And so we lead their partnerships to help with that.”

Chock will bring the mobile unit, along with a virtual reality setup that simulates treating a patient, back to Pequot Lakes High School for an anatomy class in January.