For Adair County High School students, HOSA is more than a club. It is a chance to explore health care, compete, travel and figure out what they might want to do after high school.
Health services teacher and HOSA sponsor Jennifer Carter started the program at ACHS 12 years ago.
“We started with no money,” Carter said. “We got our first $100 to pay for our checks by winning the Scarecrow contest on the square.”
Since then, the club has grown into an opportunity for students to learn about health care careers and gain experiences they might not get in a classroom.
Carter said her favorite part of sponsoring HOSA is watching students discover what they enjoy.
“Letting the kids see everything that’s out there, let them go to competitions,” she said.
“Letting them fall in love with healthcare or fall out of love with it if it’s not for them.”
HOSA gives students the chance to compete at regional, state and international levels. Regional competitions are held in Bowling Green and give students an opportunity to try different events and find what interests them.
Students can compete in events such as medical terminology, clinical nursing, job interviews, public health announcements, creative problem solving and other health-related competitions.
For Carter, the competitions are about more than winning.
“It helps them see that they can be competitive and that they can do something and be good at it,” she said.
Students also get opportunities to travel and see health care outside of Adair County.
One of Carter’s favorite trips is to the University of Kentucky, where students visit a cadaver lab.
“They actually get to see organs that have been dissected and get to have hands-on with those things and go inside that lab, and they love it,” Carter said.
The club usually takes around 40 students to competitions and events. Last year, about 36 students participated.
Students who place high enough at the state competition can qualify for the international conference, which is held in a different location each year.
Carter said students have traveled to places such as Philadelphia, Nashville, Indiana, Texas and Disney.
But students do not have to plan on becoming a nurse or doctor to benefit from HOSA.
Carter said one of her goals is to show students just how many options exist in health care.
“You don’t realize you have choices in health care when you do, if you ask the right questions,” she said.
Health care classes at ACHS also give students a chance to begin working toward certifications.
The Health Science Pathway can offer opportunities in areas such as phlebotomy and nurse aide training.
Carter said students can also save money by completing training through the school instead of paying for similar programs elsewhere.
“It gives them a chance to get those certifications without having to spend all that money,” she said.
A new sports medicine pathway is also to be added as a pathway next year.
Carter said sports medicine Mrs. Cravens has helped with the program and HOSA.
“She’s an asset to my team,” Carter said.
Current HOSA president Macy Mann joined the club as a freshman after taking Carter’s Principles of Health Science class.
Mann began competing during her sophomore year and said HOSA has become an important part of her high school experience.
“It definitely made me want to be more involved in the school and stuff because HOSA is my thing,” Mann said.
Mann plans to attend Lindsey Wilson University to pursue nursing and become a registered nurse. She said Carter has played a major role in helping her figure out what classes to take and what she wants to do after graduation.
“I feel like I’d be lost,” Mann said. “I would just be lost all throughout high school.”
Mann encourages other students to get involved, even if they are not interested in health care.
“I say get involved because even if you don’t want to go into healthcare, it’s just a good time,” she said.
This year, Mann hopes to organize a special needs dance and help HOSA take on more community service projects. She said the club is already off to a good start.
“We’re actually doing really good,” Mann said. “We plan to do a lot of community service.”
Former HOSA members say the club has stayed with them even after high school.
Kelsey Breeding was involved all four years of high school, serving as president her senior year and secretary her junior year. She competed in events including creative problem solving and medical terminology.
Breeding placed in the top five in creative problem solving at regionals and now works as a certified nursing assistant at a Summit Manor.
“It definitely strengthened my passion for healthcare and just made me more of a compassionate person about it,” Breeding said.
Breeding also said some of her closest friendships came through HOSA.
“Some of my best friends that I’ve made is in that club,” she said.
Bailey Coffey was also involved in HOSA for all four years and competed for three years. She placed third in clinical nursing at regionals.
Coffey said the club helped her learn about different medical careers while meeting other students with similar interests.
“I would tell them to do it because it’s super fun,” Coffey said. “You meet new people; you can learn new things.”
Coffey said HOSA may look like just another high school club, but its impact reaches beyond the school.
“It might just seem like a high school club, but it really is something that benefits us and then we work for the community too and it can benefit the community as well,” she said.
Lily Neat was involved in HOSA for at least three years. After attending regional and state competitions during her final two years, she finished in the top three at the state competition last year.
Neat said HOSA pushed her outside of her comfort zone and helped her become more outgoing.
“It really pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Neat said. “And just pushed me to do more things, like get out and talk to more people, go to more events.”
Neat is now in nursing school and works as a CNA at a hospital. She said HOSA helped her realize that health care was the path she wanted to follow.
“It showed me more things that I didn’t even know before,” Neat said. “It helped me to decide that that’s really what I wanted to do.”
For Carter, seeing students go from high school members to health care workers is one of the most rewarding parts of the program.
She said HOSA allows students to try new things, travel to places they may have never visited and discover careers they may not have known existed.
“Everybody’s gonna get sick at some point in time,” Carter said. “They’re gonna have kids that’s gonna get sick. Family members is gonna get sick. It’s kind of nice to have a foundation of knowledge.”
What started with a $100 prize from a Scarecrow contest has grown into a program that gives Adair County students a closer look at their future — whether that future includes a hospital, a nursing home, a classroom or a career they have yet to discover.
