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It’s a twist on summer camp for kids interested in health care.  M.A.S.H. Camp, or Medical Academy of Science and Health, is for junior high students who spend two days in the real world of hospital health care.  This summer, Little Falls Hospital will host M.A.S.H. Camp on August 2-3, 2007.

Little Falls Hospital is co-sponsoring M.A.S.H. Camp with the Central New York Area Health Education Center (CNYAHEC) and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.
             
“This is our first year offering M.A.S.H. Camp at Little Falls Hospital.  We see this as a unique opportunity for our local young people to spend time working with dedicated health professionals who are excited to share their knowledge and experience with the kids,” states Kate Reese, Director of Community Relations and Development. 
Joanne Race Borfitz, executive director for CNYAHEC, notes that M.A.S.H. Camp helps young people to consider career opportunities they might not otherwise be aware of.  “This year we will be co-sponsoring 16 M.A.S.H. camps across our 14-county Central New York region.  Without the support of our local hospitals and Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, we would not be able to reach this important target group with such an innovative, hands-on program.”

CNYAHEC also co-sponsors with Excellus two week-long resident camps for high school students. HealthQuest will be hosted at Ithaca College from July 9-13 and MedQuest at SUNY Upstate Medical University from July 16-20.  Questions about camps can be directed to Leslie Kannus, CNYAHEC program manager, at 607-756-1090 or lkannus@cnyahec.org.

M.A.S.H. Camp is open to students entering 8th or 9th grade this September. Enrollment is limited to 16 students.  Application packets are available by calling 607-756-1090 or going to CNYAHEC’s website at www.cnyahec.org.

“Students must write an essay stating why they want to attend M.A.S.H. Camp,” Ms. Kannus explains.  “The essay must be included with the application form and registration fee of $20 and submitted by the application deadline of July 2, 2007.  Students selected to participate will be notified within a few weeks of the deadline.

Plan ahead!  Students attending camp must have up-to-date immunizations and a tuberculin skin test (PPD), including documentation from a physician, before they can attend camp.

The Central New York Area Health Education Center is a local, non-profit health workforce development organization located in Cortland, New York whose mission is to promote improvements in the supply, training, development and distribution of health professionals in a 14 county area including Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Schuyler, Seneca, Tioga, and Tompkins counties.  For more information about CNYAHEC, go to www.cnyahec.org.