SUMMERVILLE — Three highschool college students received first place in a global well being care competitors after internet hosting an array of public occasions for Ashley Ridge Excessive College, together with blood and bone marrow drives and elevating consciousness to lower deaths from drunken driving and opioid misuse.

It was the varsity’s second successful end within the competitors since 2019.

The trio — Kennedy Elwood, Isabella Grossman and Brooks Matthew — are a part of Well being Occupations College students of America, a global scholar group that hosts annual competitions for highschool and center faculty college students taken with pursuing a profession in well being care.

“The purpose is to empower college students to turn out to be leaders in well being care,” mentioned Stacie Elwood, the teams HOSA adviser and well being and science trainer at Ashley Ridge.

HOSA groups from throughout the US and globally can compete in over 50 completely different occasions on the worldwide competitors, together with the Medical Reserve Corps partnership occasion that the native staff competed in. This 12 months, the worldwide competitors was held in Nashville, Tenn., and over 10,000 college students participated from the US, China, Korea, Mexico and Canada.

To get to the worldwide competitors, the staff needed to compete on the state stage and place within the high three groups. This 12 months they positioned first in South Carolina.

They created a portfolio that highlighted their expertise and gave a presentation to a panel of judges about their work that included a bunch speech towards the tip.

As a part of the competitors, the group collaborated with their native Medical Reserve Corp. unit to provoke actions that enhance public well being, improve emergency response capabilities and construct resilience of their communities.

The Medical Reserve Corp. is a nationwide community of volunteer medical professionals, public well being specialists and others who assist meet the general public well being wants of the communities they serve. In South Carolina, the MRC is coordinated by the SC Division of Well being and Environmental Management.

Stefanie Roy is the volunteer coordinator for the Lowcountry MRC unit and served because the group’s MRC adviser. She mentioned they had been instrumental within the area’s COVID-19 response, serving to construct ancillary vaccine kits and constructing hygiene kits that had been distributed to universities and excessive faculties throughout the state.

“I gave them concepts and offered the assets, and so they hit the bottom working,” Roy mentioned.

The staff hosted at the least 15 completely different occasions concerning points in the neighborhood they felt had been vital, together with elevating consciousness for human trafficking and COVID-19, and conducting hands-on CPR workshops. By way of their blood and bone marrow drives they collected over 400 items of blood and raised $2,000 for Be The Match Basis, a nationwide bone marrow donation nonprofit.

Elwood, a rising senior and chair of the varsity’s HOSA chapter, mentioned working with the muse “actually hit house for his or her staff.” Lately, a fellow scholar at Ashley Ridge was identified with a kind of bone marrow most cancers.

“Our complete HOSA chapter was very concerned within the (Be The Match) basis this 12 months to guarantee that everybody, together with our fellow scholar, obtained the remedy, love and care that they deserve,” Elwood mentioned.

Emily Hatchcock is an alumni of Ashley Ridge and competed on the 2019 successful HOSA staff. Now she serves on the Worldwide Govt Council for HOSA and was capable of watch the newest staff current their actions in Nashville.

Hatchcock is a senior at Wofford Faculty in Spartanburg who simply completed making use of to medical faculty. She mentioned being in HOSA helped develop her confidence in utilizing the abilities she realized in real-life eventualities.

Whereas Hatchcock mentioned she has by no means administered life-saving care, she was capable of stay calm and down to earth throughout emergencies. She remembers stopping to evaluate the scene of a automotive wreck a couple of years in the past and stored the folks concerned within the accident from shifting. One of many males concerned was complaining of not having the ability to transfer his legs.

Instantly, Hatchcock knew to inform the others concerned who had been attempting to maneuver him to cease and anticipate the ambulance to reach, to keep away from injuring him additional.

The group met two to a few occasions every week to organize and plan occasions for the 12 months all whereas finishing Superior Placement classwork, serving on scholar council and competing on the swim and monitor groups. All three staff members plan to enter into careers in well being care.

“As a lot as you hear concerning the HOSA competitors and successful, it is extra concerning the impression you’ve,” Brooks mentioned. “It would not matter whether or not you win or lose so long as you permit an excellent print in your neighborhood.”

Observe Zharia Jeffries on Twitter @Zharia_Jeffries.