Project SEARCH builds career pathways for students with disabilities
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 27, 2026) — This week, 10 Project SEARCH interns — the third cohort of UK HealthCare’s transition-to-work program — walked the stage with newfound confidence as many prepare to take the next step in their working lives.
The program is designed for high school students with intellectual and developmental disabilities; Project SEARCH offers young people immersive job experiences to help them develop new skills.
Fayette County high school students are taking part in a nine-month immersive internship, getting real-world experience and mentorship in different areas across UK HealthCare. They went through a skills assessment and were assigned to areas based on their interests and abilities. These areas include:
- Patient Experience
- Materials Warehouse
- Materials Supply & Distribution
- Multidisciplinary Clinic
- Campus Physical Plant (Custodial Services)
- Environmental Services
- Central Sterile
- Gift Shop
- Food Services
UK HealthCare partnered with UK’s Human Development Institute, Fayette County Public Schools and the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to become the first academic medical center in Kentucky to serve as a hub site for Project SEARCH. Additional partners include the University of Kentucky College of Education and the Finck Supported Living Services.
Since its launch in 2023, Project SEARCH has grown in both scope and program structure, fostering more internal partnerships and reinforcing a commitment to not only job placement, but well-rounded intern experience.
In addition to their on-the-job training, the interns spend time in a classroom where they learn skills such as how to interact with coworkers and safety in the workplace.
“Being a part of Project SEARCH, you’re given access to a whole curriculum that touches on different skills,” said Holly McCombs, the Project SEARCH program instructor and a Fayette County teacher. “We’re afforded time to work on those skills in a really intentional way.”
A typical day for the students includes classroom time to practice their workplace skills before going to their job sites for two hours. After lunch with their colleagues, they’ll work for a brief period before returning to their classroom to wrap up their day. Any questions the students may have about their experience can be applied to the next lesson.
Erin Neward, manager of the UK Markey Cancer Center’s Multidisciplinary Clinic, serves as a Project SEARCH mentor, working directly with students as they complete internships in a clinical setting.
Neward said she works with two students at a time overseeing tasks like handling mail, copying, stapling and organizing materials, cleaning shared spaces and assisting with general clinic support tasks. Students with an interest in healthcare often can shadow medical assistants, nurses and pharmacists.
“They grow so much in a short period of time — from communication and confidence to understanding what professionalism looks like in a healthcare setting,” Neward said.
Following graduation, many graduates are taking the next steps toward employment and further training. Tukea Talbert, chief health disparities officer at UK HealthCare, led the launch of Project SEARCH. She said one intern is employed by PetSuites Hamburg, four interns will be participating in the State Registered Nursing Assistant Program at UK HealthCare and will work following the program as nurse care technicians, one intern will enroll in the UK HealthCare’s Central Sterile Career Technician program, and four other interns are applying for numerous positions internal and external to the hospital.
“We don’t want to have the program just to say UK HealthCare checks the box for a Project SEARCH hub site,” Talbert said. “Our goal is to train the interns in a way that they are equipped with life and work skills and well positioned for competitive employment. We believe that this program creates a pathway of possibilities for individuals who may not have had as many options. We are introducing to the Commonwealth an untapped resource that will make us stronger, wiser and healthier.”
UK HealthCare’s Project SEARCH program was based on a model developed by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 1996 by Erin Riehle, director of the hospital’s emergency department, and Susie Rutkowski, then a special education director. The goal was to create a training program for young adults with developmental disabilities that could fill some entry-level positions in the hospital. The program has since expanded to other industries, giving young adults important work and social skills necessary to find meaningful employment and earn income.
Locally, the program has continued to evolve to meet students’ needs, including an improved student selection process, more departmental participation and an overall more knowledgeable infrastructure. Talbert said the program has improved with each cohort, with a stronger focus on tailoring the experience to each student to position them for optimal success.
“While we follow the core structure, we’re also trying to align experiences with students’ interests and strengths… to optimize their experience while they’re here,” Talbert said.
Naz’Jae Thompson, one of this year’s graduates, interned with the Markey Multidisciplinary Clinic, Campus Physical Plant and the Lexington Humane Society during his time with the program, where he’s learned more about organization, teamwork and cleaning.
“Project SEARCH is the only place where I can interact with people and they don’t judge me,” Thompson said.
Through Project SEARCH’s curriculum, opportunities, and its mentors and staff, Thompson has already begun working as a kennel technician at PetSuites Hamburg where he takes care of animals.
“Every time they helped me understand my dreams, it pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me believe in myself,” Thompson said.
Now working and applying to new positions and programs, Thompson and his peers will continue building on the skills and experiences gained through Project SEARCH.
UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated healthcare professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns and the region’s only Level 1 trauma center.
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As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and healthcare. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $1.02 billion research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.