In these contributed photos, Lauren Perez is pictured at left during her time as a junior volunteer and at right as a nurse practitioner with LMH Health Heart Center.
It’s becoming rare for someone to spend their entire career with the same organization. Lauren Perez is bucking that trend. Her career journey began as a junior volunteer at LMH before she became a nurse practitioner.
Growing up in Lawrence, her initial interest in health care was fueled by her mother, a labor and delivery nurse at LMH Health.
“When I was in middle school, I thought I wanted to be a doctor. Dr. Stephen Segebrecht was a family friend, and I had the chance to shadow him,” Perez shared. “It was my mom who really got my foot in the door at LMH because she introduced me to the Junior Volunteer program.”
Junior Volunteer Program
Junior volunteers are high school students who spend their free time giving back to the community by working at LMH Health. They are generally interested in a career in health care or want to better understand how a hospital runs. Junior volunteers can be found throughout the hospital working with various administrative and clinical staff.
“I volunteered during the summer and worked in the old pharmacy counting medication bottles and doing odds and ends,” Perez recalls. “The next summer I worked in the labor and delivery unit where I made up bassinets, put folders together, and interacted a lot with the nurses. It was a great opportunity to see what health care was like.”
The Junior Volunteer program is open year-round to participants who are:
- At least 14 years old
- Available to work at least one two to four hour shift per week
- Interested in helping the community
- Possibly interested in a health care career
“The program is an amazing opportunity for students. We offer a variety of placement options throughout the hospital and clinics, which allows volunteers to get insight into different aspects of health care,” said Shane Heiman, LMH Health Volunteer Services manager.
Ryan Bishop, a newer volunteer at LMH Health, was introduced to the idea by her health sciences teacher at Eudora High School.
“I’m working toward becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) through my health sciences class. We went to the University of St. Mary’s and we learned about physical therapy,” Bishop explained. “I really liked what I saw and my teacher suggested volunteering at LMH.”
From Clinic to Career
Bishop's path is reminiscent of Perez's journey. After graduating from Free State High School, Perez took a CNA summer course through Neosho Community College and worked as a nursing assistant at LMH Health.
“I was hired as a nurse on the 2-East/ICU unit after graduation and worked full time for several years,” she said. “After I finished graduate school in 2014, I began working at the Internal Medicine Group (now LMH Health Primary Care-6th and Folks Road) as a nurse practitioner.”
Working in primary care provided Perez with a solid foundation, and she eventually transitioned to cardiology when a position opened at the LMH Health Heart Center in 2018.
“I’m so proud to work at LMH. I feel like I make a big difference in my patients’ lives,” she said. “Local care is important and we provide great cardiology care.”
Bishop believes that working as a junior volunteer is an opportunity every student should consider.
“From my very first day, I was treated like part of the team. I was able to watch and also get some hands-on experience. It’s a great opportunity and one that you don’t want to miss out on,” she said.
Perez echoes this sentiment, stating that her experience as a junior volunteer set her on a career path that allowed her to continue caring for the community.
“LMH has invested in me as a person for many years, from volunteering to receiving an LMH Auxiliary scholarship for four years during college,” she said. “My family is planted in Lawrence and LMH is taking care of all of us. I love that I’ve been able to continue my career in a place that takes such a huge role in caring for the community.”
— Autumn Bishop is the marketing manager and content strategist at LMH Health, which is a sponsor of the Lawrence Journal-World health section.
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