The high school senior was one of dozens of students taking part in the new Medical Explorer program that introduces area teens to the medical profession, including in this recent class how to suture open wounds.
At first hesitant when she was presented with a small sample of artificial skin — complete with both straight and curved wounds — Okoh quickly and deftly used a needle to thread together the fake wounds, tying minute but neat suture knots.
“At first I didn’t think I could do it, but it’s fun,” she said beaming.
Also smiling nearby was Dr. John Kennedy.
The first-year program was his idea, but he said he never anticipated its quick popularity.
“We were swamped by applications,” said the vice president of medical affairs at Mercy Health - Fairfield Hospital.
The inaugural class numbers 42 high school students from Lakota, Fairfield, Wyoming, Winton Woods and Sycamore school districts.
Kennedy bounces around the class, assisting and encouraging along with a half-dozen other doctors, nurses and physician assistants who join him in volunteering to teach the teens about a variety of medical practices.
Kennedy brought the first-year program, which is an extension of a Boy Scouts of America program, to Fairfield because there was nothing like it when he was young and dreaming of becoming a doctor.
“When I was in high school, I never had an opportunity like this,” he said.
The students, who have an average GPA of 3.9, meet at the Butler County hospital campus twice a month.
The teens interact and quiz current doctors and other hospital staffers and sometimes shadow them in areas of radiology, cardiology, lab work, patient care and hospital emergency room disaster procedures.
Kennedy and the other medical staffers answer all questions from the students — from sutures to medical schools student loans to what it’s like to have a career in medicine.
“We want to get them exposed to a variety of career paths,” he said.
“It’s been a wonderful experience,” said Henrietta Okafor, a senior at Fairfield High School.
“I always knew what I’ve wanted to do since I was little and this program helps,” she said. “And Dr. Kennedy is pretty awesome. He talks about his experience and provides good guidance.
It’s a labor of love for Kennedy.
"I look at it as my duty," he said. "And part of my job at the hospital is to make sure we have medical professionals in the future and this is one way to build that future."
“What surprised me the most though was the enthusiasm of the students,” he added.
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