Students arrive at HPC 2017

Health Professions Conference 2017 in review:  It was still dark outside when the IHPC staff arrived at the Centennial Complex at Loma Linda University (LLU) to get ready for the day that had been months in planning. In a few short hours school buses began to pull up with eager and expectant health pathway students from all over our region. These students had come for a day of inspiration and learning from health professionals who serve the Inland Empire. It would have been impossible to offer this free conference to nearly 600 high school students without the generousity of our host campus - Loma Linda University, the sponsors, volunteers, and more than 40 health professionals who donate their time to speak to these students.

	Opening general session at HPC 2017

Topics this year included, dentistry, radiology, public health, nursing, physician assistance, pharmacy, first responder, mental health, medical coding, clinical lab science, family medicine and so much more! LLU arranged for simulation lab tours (students watched $100,000 dummies respond to real live resuscitation procedures) as well as a special visit to the cadaver lab for select students. The School of Dentisty provided an extensive two-hour lab session as well where students made molds of their own. 

Melissa Avalos and Ressa Moss

We had more than nearly 600 students in attendance this year, so they were divided into two large ampitheaters for the general sessons. The atmosphere was kept lively with our two student emcees - Melissa Avalos from Chino Hills High and Ressa Moss from Rancho Cucamonga High. These ladies brought their energy and spirit to welcome their peers, make announcements, and introduce our keynotes. This year was the first time we held a contest to choose student emcees and these young women inspired us with their desire to serve their communities. Melissa aspires to

	Ressa Moss with Dr. Fernandez

be a critical care nurse while Ressa is making plans to go into restorative dentistry. This year we also had two keynote speakers: Dr. Paola Case from Kaiser Permanente in Baldwin Park, and Dr. Carlos Fernandez who is completing his 3rd year residency in Psychiatry at UCR. They both spoke candidly about their personal journey and family background. The common themes of struggle, uncertainty, set backs and success helped the students to realize that any goal can be achieved if you don't give up on yourself. "There are so many health careers; it's not just medicine and nursing. We hope they follow their passions, wherever it leads them," said Dr. Paola Case.

After the keynote messages, the students headed to their first two breakout sessions of the morning. The presenters kept the students engaged with personal experiences, slide shows, illustrations, hands-on demonstrations and other activities. They broke for lunch at noon to grab a bag lunch and attend the vendor fair. We had 30 exhibitors who filled the lobbies on the first and second floors. Many of our partners were in attendance including Loma Linda University, Cal Baptist University, Azusa Pacific University, Chino Valley Medical Center, San Bernardino  Behavioral Health, Riverside County

	Presenter: Jerone Murphy, RT

Behavioral Health, Western University, One Legacy, and AMR who brought one of the ambulances for students to explore. It was hard to tear them away from Robert Coster who spent the hour pointing out the various pieces of life-saving equipment and talking about life as a first responder. Students moved from booth to booth gathering information, and picking up freebies while asking loads of questions which the reps were more than happy to answer. IHPC provided each student a "I Heart HPC" backpack which contained a custom 15-month student planner, a thumb drive filled with student resources,  a conference program, give-aways, water, and snacks. 

Diana Fox welcomes invitees at Health Industry Luncheon.

This was truly a year of firsts for HPC. In addition to two keynotes and student emcees, we also held a special VIP Health Industry Luncheon. Invitees heard from Dr. Paola Case as well as Carol Allbaugh, Director of the IHPC at Reach Out who spoke about the state of the region and highlighted the need for greater parntership between educational institutions and health agencies to address the future healthcare needs in the Inland Empire. A great discussion and networking followed. 

The teachers also received special treament at the conference. A break room with light snacks and drinks was provided as well as a special resource room. Here they could choose from more than 30 full-color posters, brochures, and resource booklets to use or share with their students in the classroom. Many attended the workshops with their students and shared their comments with us like Grace Chung, a health pathway teacher at Corona High School. "My students had an amazing time and can't stop smiling," she said. "They are leaving recharged and excited about their future in healthcare. Thank you!"  

After lunch the third and final breakout session began, featuring topics such as mental health issues in trauma, barriers to community health care, athletic training, phlebotomy, anesthesia, nutrition, and medical assisting. Before we knew it, it was time to bring the conference to a close with a final general session given by two video conferenced presenters: Chris Ashley on the field of radiology and Larry Stevens on the future of medicine. Our emcees announced the winners of the door prizes and the students took a brief written survey. As students filed onto their buses to return to school we heard many positive comments. Some we captured on video which will be available on our website after it is completed. There were many hugs, big smiles and lots of excited chatter. This year's conference is behind us but the impact it has left on our young people will leave an indelible mark. Take a good look at these faces - they are our future! 

WIOA H.O.T. program participants dressed for success. Shown here with Melanie Harrison of IHPC.

Post note: Through the generosity of our supporters, we are able to reach, inspire, and educate students throughout the region to pursue a career in health. The map  below indicates the location of the high schools who attended HPC2017. We want to give all of them, plus our friends at Inland Empire Job Corps and our WIOA participants a special shout- out for coming to this year's conference. We hope to see you again next year!

Participating high schools at HPC 2017

We're in the news! Please read the San Bernardino Sun article covering our conference!