Category: News || By Staff Report

A new initiative will help freshmen at McKeesport Area High School and five other public high schools learn about career opportunities in health care.

The city-based Consortium for Public Education announced this week that it will help launch Pathways to Health Careers at McKeesport Area High School, as well as at Munhall's Steel Valley High School and Pittsburgh's Carrick High School.

Other non-profit groups are launching the program at Pittsburgh's Langley, Peabody and Taylor Allderdice high schools.

Pathways to Health Careers will connect schools with health care providers and other resources to create programs that explain to ninth-graders the necessary educational steps to become a doctor, nurse, technician or other health care professional. The programs will give students information about job availability and salaries, and help them choose their educational goals.

The programs are designed to help students achieve the career education mileposts outlined in the state Department of Education's Career and Work Standards, a Consortium spokeswoman says.

Health care is now the Pittsburgh area's largest single employment sector, and UPMC McKeesport hospital is the city's largest employer. UPMC and the Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania are working with the Consortium to develop the program and provide resources to students, a spokeswoman says.

Linda Croushore, executive director of the Consortium, says the partnership "just makes sense" for both her organization and the Mon Valley.

"Every career exploration opportunity that we bring into our region's public schools also serves the region's imperatives for workforce development," she says.

Gina Barrett of the Consortium and faculty at each of the high schools will help students design and lead the programs at each location, according to the plan submitted to the JHF and United Way.

Besides helping students explore health and science careers, the plan is also designed to let students develop leadership and teamwork skills, Barrett says. It also brings out ideas that faculty might not have explored, she says.

"We've had a lot of success with this model because students often can engage their peers in ways that might not always occur to adults," she says.

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Construction Will Close Route 30: New steel beams will be put in place at the bridge being built across Route 30 in North Versailles Township.

The work will force the highway to close on Friday night and remain closed through early Monday morning, says Jim Struzzi, district spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

Under a $4.5 million contract, Gulisek Construction Co. of Mt. Pleasant, Westmoreland County, is replacing the bridge that carries Greensburg Pike over Route 30 just west of East McKeesport. Work is expected to wrap up this fall.

The posted detour takes motorists around the construction zone using Greensburg Pike and Warren Drive, which serves the North Versailles Wal-Mart and Great Valley Shopping Center.

Next week, traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction on Route 30 near Greensburg Pike for additional construction work. The restrictions will be in place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly, Struzzi says.

Route 30 in North Versailles serves about 22,000 cars on an average day, according to PennDOT traffic volume maps.

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New Homebuyer Workshop Slated Sept. 18: Mon Valley Initiative will host a free pre-purchase housing workshop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 18. All participants who successfully complete the workshop, which meets U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development criteria, will receive a certificate that's required to obtain certain community development mortgage loans from local lenders, says Mike Mauer, MVI housing counselor.

The workshop will be held at MVI's office, 305 East 8th Ave., Homestead. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided, and parking will be free.

To register or get more information, call Mike Mauer (412) 464-4000 or visit MVI's website.

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