6 HEALTH COMPASS Late Spring 2026 Opening doors to future caregivers A Health Occupations class is bringing future caregivers to the field of health care. The class is open to juniors and seniors in Astoria, Warrenton and Knappa high schools. About 30 years ago, CMH started the class, originally taught by CMH Infection Preventionist Kendra Gohl. Kelly Cope took the class when she was in high school, unaware that she would ultimately become a nurse. “I loved learning that nurses were right at the center of coordinating everything, and I loved the relationship aspect,” Cope says. The class inspired her future career in health care. Cope has a master’s degree and 14 years of nursing experience. She is now a clinical education coordinator at CMH after managing the Med/Surg and CCU teams for several years. Her role includes teaching the Health Occupations class, organizing job shadowing opportunities and clinical experiences, and supporting safety programs. Cope’s background in nursing prepared her well for teaching. “From the start of your nursing career, you’re always educating patients,” she says. Years of patient care and leadership roles honed her communication and presentation skills, making her comfortable in front of groups. “I always wanted to be a kindergarten teacher, so guiding and coaching feels natural,” she explains. Cope likes to use creative tactics to keep students engaged, since the class doesn’t carry the same weight as professional training. Health care has so many career paths, and students might not know about these opportunities in the field, she says. Learning opportunities Over the course of the school year, students in the class learn through a variety of methods, including hands-on activities, guest speakers and job shadowing. “There are tons of guests that come in. On average, we probably have a guest almost once a week,” Cope says. Podiatrist Michael Murdock, DPM, “is fabulous,” she says. “He brings in a cadaver foot. He’s a great guest…and it’s a really cool experience.” Job shadowing is an important part of experiential learning, where students get to see a day in the life of a health care professional. “Students do at least five hours of shadowing each semester,” Cope says. “The caregiver’s responsibility is to provide them with hopefully a fun and interactive experience, answer their questions, and try to show them as much as they can but also be very realistic.” Success and future goals Last year, Cope taught a student who wanted to be everything. “Megan Barrett from Respiratory Therapy was one of our guests, and I immediately saw the student’s eyes just light up,” Cope says. “She came up to me after class and said, ‘I want to be a respiratory therapist.’” While most students are interested in traditional health care opportunities, Cope looks forward to introducing alternative careers, such as chiropractic, massage therapy and acupuncture. “We have a lot of caregivers [at CMH] who took this class,” she says. Cope has several goals for the class, such as preparing students for the health care field and building long-lasting relationships. “My primary goal for the students is to help them determine if they want to or don’t want to go into health care,” Cope says. “My other goal is to build relationships with them so hopefully if they go into health care and do want to come back to the community, they remember the hospital and the people…and that maybe they would want to come back and work here [at CMH].” Interested in a health care career? High school students can find out information about the Health Occupations class by contacting their school office.
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