Project SEARCH makes professional training and employment accessible to all

When Caitlin Ingebritson, 21, thinks about her time with Project SEARCH at M Health Fairview Lakes Medical Center, she can’t help but smile. She’ll tell you about her favorite tasks, her fellow Project SEARCH interns, and what she learned during her time at the medical center.

Project SEARCH is a nationwide program that supports young adults with disabilities whose goal is employment. Employers partner with their local school districts and counties to offer Project SEARCH to people ages 18-22.

Project SEARCH at Lakes Medical Center, where Caitlin interned, is a partnership between M Health Fairview, Forest Lake Area Schools, and Chisago County. It’s been running successfully for over a decade, having launched in September 2013. In 2022, M Health Fairview Ridges Hospital offered Project SEARCH for the first time in partnership with the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District and Dakota County. Ridges welcomed its second group of interns in September.

The 2023-2024 Project SEARCH interns at Ridges will complete three 10-week rotations in various departments at the hospital including security, environmental services, nutrition services, supply chain, facilities, clerical, and more. Interns will come to Ridges every day and will also complete a curriculum based on what they’re learning.

At the Fall 2023 Project SEARCH kick-off, Caitlin shared her experience with the new batch of interns. She shared a poster that showed her working in each role and made special mention of her favorite job: riding on the security vehicle, aptly nicknamed “Beep Beep.” She answered questions from new interns and program coordinators and assured everyone that Project SEARCH is an awesome opportunity.

Caitlin’s dad Jason says that the program taught her how to be more independent and responsible, and helped her identify her strengths and interests. Caitlin says in the future she would love to be an aide who works with children.