Article in UCLA Today about our partnership with the UCLA Hospital, PathPoint and Project Search

Jul 07, 2011 By Cynthia Lee


Adults with developmental disabilities gain job skills at hospital

It was a bad day for news, Marie Zappone and her four fellow job interns at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center discovered, scouring Internet news sites on Tuesday for topical conversation starters for the day. Another bombing in Iraq. A child murder trial.

"Some news stories are too depressing," Zappone concluded, deciding to go with something more uplifting. "So how was your holiday? Did you see any fireworks?" she asked a stranger brightly.

Zappone and her fellow interns at the hospital are adults with developmental disabilities, coping with disorders that range from autism to intellectual disabilities. Placed in specific jobs at the hospital to build their skills through a six-month training program, they are also learning the art of making small talk with patients, hospital visitors, co-workers, supervisors and the medical staff, among other workplace skills that most of us take for granted.

Marie Zappone, serving an internship as a labeling technician at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, inventories hundreds of packaged medical catheters and other equipment. She hopes that her six-month training will lead to a real job somewhere.The stakes are high for these motivated, conscientious young adults. The pilot program they’re enrolled in, Project SEARCH, could be their best chance to find an employer and secure a career, a paycheck and an independent life. The program is run by PathPoint — a national nonprofit organization established in 1964 and dedicated to helping people with disabilities or disadvantages reach their fullest potential — with a grant from the California Department of Rehabilitation, partnering with Pathway-UCLA Extension and Westside Regional Center. More...