Having the courage to stand up in emergency situations can be difficult for adults, let alone high schoolers. Yet that’s exactly what juniors Ayra Bhatty, Saranya Dontharaju, Yalini Sundar and Olivia Yoon are doing, while educating their peers and community in the process.
Since freshman year, they have teamed up to compete in various events through Healthcare Occupation Students of America (HOSA), where they have the chance to compete at regionals and advance to the state and national levels.
“It’s a really fun opportunity to truly showcase what you’re passionate about in medicine,” Bhatty said. “That’s why we decided to join it.”
This year, Bhatty and her team are competing in the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Partnership event, which involves working with local volunteer committees to assist in emergency situations and address public health crises.
“We’re focusing on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities, which involves projects centered around sensory bags and general prevention efforts as well,” Dontharaju said.
According to the Center on Disability and Development, sensory bags are intended to mitigate sensory overload during graduations, sports and games for those with sensory sensitivities. The team hopes to use these as a tool for individuals with disabilities to reduce stress and provide support in these situations.
The partnership aspect of this event also allows the HOSA group to receive mentorship under Tiffany Etzel, the unit leader for the Lake County MRC, who was involved in public health responses to COVID-19 and MPOX.
“It’s cool to connect with a government organization and have the resources to make a real change. In our past HOSA events, we didn’t have a mentor, but under the MRC coordinator [Tiffany Etzel], I feel like we can really channel our interests and participate in a lot of projects that are meaningful,” Dontharaju said.
The team began meeting with the MRC coordinator in July, and they’ve been having regular meetings and spearheading projects around the school ever since then. As they prepare for the state competition, they plan to grow their network by connecting with other community organizations.
“We plan to give different illness prevention presentations and partner with organizations like Gigi’s Playhouse, which is an achievement center for people with Down syndrome,” Bhatty said. “We really want to partner with them and advocate for public health awareness for people with disabilities and special needs.”
At the school level, they plan to train their peers on how to respond in
emergency situations, including instances of severe bleeding.
“We’re going to hold a ‘Stop the Bleed’ session with our entire HOSA club in early March, so it would be great if we could see some of our HOSA members and other students participating in the training,” Sundar said.
Through HOSA and the mentorship of the MRC, the group not only has the opportunity to learn more about the healthcare field, but they have a chance to participate and organize potentially life saving projects. This is the sort of impact that the group hopes will resonate with the community.
