SEBRING Fla. (Thursday, October 09, 2025) — AdventHealth is giving students in Highlands and Hardee Counties the chance to explore careers in health care by providing them with an immersive learning experience through a special volunteer program.
Explorers is a program sponsored by Scouting America, where young people from all backgrounds can get career experiences. The Explorers meet monthly and work on various student-driven projects with adult guidance and support from AdventHealth team members. The program accepts young members of our community from ages 16 to 20 years-old to participate.
AdventHealth launched the first-of-its-kind program for the Heartland community in August 2024, with 14 high school students from Avon Park, Sebring, Lake Placid, and Wauchula starting their learning sessions in January 2025. The students received hands-on experience in Radiology, Laboratory, Surgical Services, Pharmacy, and Respiratory Therapy.
AdventHealth is hosting an open house event on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at AdventHealth Sebring hospital at 4200 Sun N Lake Boulevard from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. where students and parents can learn more about the program and what it offers as well as meet program and hospital leaders.
“This is an amazing opportunity for these young adults to dive into the world of healthcare,” said Casie Miller, Imaging Manager at AdventHealth Lake Placid. “Some of the hands-on experience our inaugural class of explorers received earlier this year included taking part in X-ray set up and procedure, as well as MRIs, Ultrasounds and spending time in the cardiac catheterization lab where they learned about life saving measures and equipment used to save lives during heart attacks and other emergency situations.”
This program also educated the explorers on the different areas of need in the operating room from pre-surgical testing to post-op procedures. They had the opportunity to explore the DaVinci surgical robot and learn about different orthopedic surgical tools. They also got to see the many uses of respiratory services in the hospital, simulated the intubation of a mannequin, learned CPR and gained knowledge about the critical roles and functions of hospital laboratories and pharmacies.
“The first year of this program was an extraordinary success and we are thrilled to offer these amazing students hands-on experiences in a variety of medical fields and gain invaluable connections with our exceptional team of healthcare professionals,” AdventHealth Lake Placid Executive Director and Administrator Justin Evans said. “We are looking forward to welcoming this year’s group of applicants as we work to grow this program, which aims to inspire our young people and provide them with pathway options into healthcare.”
Applications for the Explorer’s program are now being accepted. To apply, please click here.
Provided by AdventHealth