The Emerging Health Professionals (EHP) Program is a joint program between Lehigh Career and Technical Institute (LCTI), Penn State Lehigh Valley and Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) for high-achieving high school seniors from Lehigh County interested in starting their education in the health care field. Program partners also include Lehigh Valley Health Network, St. Luke’s University Health Network, KidsPeace, Country Meadows and Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital.
Since 2005, over 600 students have graduated from the EHP program. The 11th cohort of EHP students graduated on Tuesday, May 24 at LCCC. This year 50 students will be graduating from nine Lehigh County high schools, including: Catasauqua, Louis E. Dieruff, Emmaus, Northern Lehigh, Northwestern Lehigh, Parkland, Salisbury, Southern Lehigh and Whitehall.
Each year the students in the EHP Program gain a variety of health care experience and take science courses at either Penn State Lehigh Valley or LCCC for college credit. In addition, students are given an overview of the healthcare industry through courses at LCTI.
The EHP Program is five half-days a week during students’ senior year. The time is split between courses at Penn State Lehigh Valley or LCCC, LCTI and activities and presentations at LVHN. Students spend one day a week rotating through different departments at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) facilities, St. Luke’s University Health Network Allentown campus, Country Meadows and Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network.
Students from the 2016 cohort are going on to a variety of schools including: Penn State University, Penn State Lehigh Valley, University of Pittsburgh, Temple University, Duquesne University, DeSales University, Moravian College, Lock Haven University, East Stroudsburg University, West Chester University and North Carolina State, among others.