Mercy Health, Urban League Program Sees First Medical Doctor Alum

More than a decade after he first interned with Mercy Health, Jordan Brown is on track to become a doctor.

Brown, a 2010 graduate of Admiral King High School in Lorain, is the first intern from an Urban League-Mercy Health partnership to receive a medical doctorate degree. He graduated this weekend from Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is set to start his residency at a hospital in East Liverpool.

None of it would be possible without the Rising Star intern program, he said.

The program, an initiative between the Lorain County Urban League (Elyria, OH) and Mercy Health Lorain invites area high school students to work at the hospital, shadowing doctors and nurses, as well as administrative, food services, finance and marketing staff, said Catherine Woskobnick, director of community health at Mercy Health Lorain.

Its goal is to boost the pipeline into health care for students from diverse backgrounds, breaking down barriers individuals may have.

“You can overcome any barrier as long as you have the courage to ask for help,” Woskobnick said. “And so we really try to create that relationship to say 'we are here for you.' However, if you don't tell us — we're more than willing to do anything for you. Write those reference letters, to connect you with jobs, however it is a relationship piece. I think that is so important to raise their level of accountability.”

Urban League President Parris Smith agreed. To help lift some financial burden from participants' shoulders, the monthlong, 40-hour-per-week internship is paid.

“We recognize the population that we serve, they have responsibilities,” Smith said.

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