Eleven junior and senior high-school students from Columbia and Lafayette counties attended a Medical Applications of Science for Health (MASH) camp June 4-15 at Magnolia Regional Medical Center. The camp theme was “Taking a Cruise for MASH.” The students and their instructor are (left to right) LaZanee Miller of Magnolia, Madison Haynes of Taylor, Riley Beshea of Taylor, Ashanti Blair of Waldo, Tiffany Erwin of Waldo, Mykee Green of Magnolia, Karen Weido, marketing director for Magnolia Regional Medical Center and MAS*H coordinator, Leeah Boulware of Waldo, Jonathan Mitchell of Stamps, Mikayla Peterson of Waldo, La’Vira Young of Magnolia and Tiffany Dempsey of Waldo.
The two-week summer medical enrichment experience allows high school students to shadow health professionals and attend workshops that enhance their experiences in the health-care field. They learn about pharmacy, therapy, CPR, anatomy, surgery, emergency medical response and much more. The program hopes to encourage rural youth interested in medical fields to continue their education and then return to rural areas to work.
MASH students are sponsored by county Farm Bureaus and the MASH Partnership, which includes the University of Arkansas for Medical Science’s Regional Centers, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Arkansas Farm Bureau and Baptist Health. Arkansas Farm Bureau is a nonprofit, private farm and rural advocacy organization of more than 190,000 families throughout the state working to improve farm and rural life.