OKEECHOBEE — Seminole Elementary School students with an interests in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects visited Raulerson Hospital to learn about medical careers involving STEM subjects.

The tour of Raulerson Hospital was the perfect way for the 24 Olympiad students to end a year’s worth of learning, experiments and even competing against other students in STEM clubs. Raulerson Hospital is in its second year supporting STEM students from Seminole Elementary School.

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Seminole Elementary Olympiad students learned from ER Director Kathy Selby, ER Manager Gerry Windle and Dr. Vergara about how the LUCAS machine can automatically perform chest compressions for patients.

During the tour, the students were divided into two groups which departed for the ER and the hospital’s laboratory. In the ER, they learned the importance of the triage system, interviewed an ER physician, checked their blood pressure, observed the technology that automatically performs chest compressions on patients requiring CPR (even pumping the air-bag), and of course shared their own ER experiences. During their visit to the Laboratory, students participated in an interactive blood-typing experiment. They learned about the technology and functions of various equipment. The students even viewed slides of leukemia and other types of cells.

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Seminole Elementary School Olympiad Students and teacher Lynn Greeson presented Raulerson Hospital CEO Brian Melear and ER Director Kathy Selby with a plaque of appreciation for the facility’s continuing support of their group, which focuses on developing an interest in the subjects of Science Technology, Engineering and Math.

Raulerson Hospital recently detailed the partnership in a video the students produced for a grant funding application. CEO Brian Melear explained that it is important for students to feel supported by their community throughout their education. He noted that our community is sized appropriately to accomplish this. Mr. Melear also remarked “The staff at Raulerson Hospital relish the opportunity to connect with these talented students and inspire them to possibly become the next ER director, surgeon, or blood analyst and beyond.”

Raulerson Hospital’s ER treats nearly 30,000 patients annually and has wait times shorter than the national average. Raulerson Hospital is licensed as a Primary Stroke Center and the ER physicians are board certified. The ER nursing staff are trained in Advanced Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support. To view the average ER wait times, visit Raulerson Hospital.com.

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Seminole Elementary School Olympiad students analyze slides under a microscope during a field trip to Raulerson Hospital.

Raulerson Hospital is a facility of HCA East Florida. HCA East Florida is the largest healthcare system in Eastern Florida and an affiliate of HCA Healthcare (HCA). HCA East Florida has 14 hospitals, multiple ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care centers, physician practices, imaging centers and free standing emergency care facilities, as well as a supply chain center and an integrated regional lab. Together, HCA East Florida employs more than 18,000 employees and has more than 6,600 physicians on staff. For more information, visit HCAEastFlorida.com.