Youth Health Service Corps (YHSC)

Students helping to create healthier communities through volunteer service.

A PROGRAM OF THE WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI AHEC

Mission:
Recurit diverse high school students into health care careers.

Background:
The Youth Health Service Corps is open to high school students interested in health care careers. Through participation in the Corps, high school students are trained and placed as volunteers in health care agencies that serve vulnerable populations.

This enables students to fulfill a vital community need for volunteer service, while acquiring real life learning experience under the guidance of professional role models and mentors.

Training Curriculum:
The Youth Health Service Corps uses a nine-module curriculum to train students for the volunteer setting. Each module contains numerous hands-on activities designed to prepare students to interact with underserved populations in health care settings.

Volunteer Service:
Once trained, students are placed at community health care agencies such as community health centers, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and long-term care facilities.

Service Learning Projects:
Students select one of four service learning project tracks based on their interests. They include: Oral Hygiene, Nutrition, Emergency Preparedness, Sickle Cell Disease. Service learning projects provide students with a unique perspective on the needs of their communities.

Three Tiered Structure

Reward and Recognition for Completion by Tier
Tier 1 Basic Recognition
Tier 2 Special Recognition
Tier 3 National Recognition and Eligibility to Apply for Scholarship

Student Benefits:

• Becomes active part of community
• Fulfills the need for volunteer service
• Partcipates in Service Learning Projects
• Acquires knowledge about health care careers
• Builds college resume
• Satisfies volunteer service school requirements

• Fulfills the need for volunteers to serve the underserved
• Develops partnerships between health care, education and community agencies