June 18, 2015

by: Emily Hastings

Employer of the Year – Mercy Regional Medical Center

UCP of Greater Cleveland held its 65th Annual Meeting this past Tuesday, June 16, at the Tinkham Veale University Center on the Case Western Reserve University campus. Clients, donors, partners and community members were invited to join the agency in celebrating the many accomplishments made by UCP of Greater Cleveland clients, partners and employees during 2014.

Highlights of the evening included the Boots Fisher Memorial Awards given to clients demonstrating great strides towards greater independence, as well as the Employer of the Year Award to a local Northeast Ohio employer who has shown distinctive commitment to the employment of individuals with disabilities.

This year, UCP of Greater Cleveland is proud to announce this year’s Employer of the Year is Mercy Regional Medical Center in Lorain County, one of our Project SEARCH business partners. Project SEARCH is a program that prepares young adults with disabilities transitioning out of high school to become competitively employed upon graduation.

Edwin Oley, President & CEO of Mercy was instrumental in getting Project SEARCH started in 2012. He assigned co-business liaisons, Sharon Wilson, Manager of Clinical Education, and Dale Greathouse, Manager of Volunteer Services, who have spearheaded the program since then and have been strong supporters.

Mercy has made a genuine commitment to encourage the integration of diversity and inclusion into multiple departments at the facility. Since the 2012-13 school year, Mercy has hired four Project SEARCH interns as employees of the hospital in various departments.

In the last two years, the Project SEARCH site at Mercy has added eight new internships, for a total of 15 internship opportunities, with continued potential for expansion. These internship opportunities provide a broad spectrum of work experiences for student interns.

The staff at Mercy are unwavering in their support for the Project SEARCH program. Mercy employees embrace the Project SEARCH interns, and live their mission by demonstrating inclusive practices in the workplace. The employees at Mercy provide guidance, support, training and supervision to our interns on a daily basis. Employee participation is an essential element that allows our interns to learn, grow and thrive.

---