CFNN Reporters – Gracie McLaurin and Ava Beal

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care employees plummeted by 15% in the health workforce, leaving many healthcare facilities desperately in need of employees.

HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) is a club that focuses on many health care jobs such as doctors, nurses, dentists, and even the veterinary sciences.

This organization helps many students get a headstart in pursuing careers in the healthcare field. It exposes them to many opportunities and scholarships related to healthcare and medicine.

“HOSA has given me a lot of outreach opportunities to go into the community and helped me decide what field in the healthcare system I want to go into,” said member Kennedi Brown.

HOSA holds club meetings every other week on Wednesdays: holding one meeting in the morning and another right after school. They meet in room 237; times will vary depending on the day.

“We tend to have many students place high in our competitions,” said HOSA Advisor Jamie Krusinski.

Jamie Krusinski graduated from Macomb Community College with 3 different associate degrees in veterinary technician, nursing, and science appliances, but her true passion was nursing. Krusinski has been a nurse for 12 years now. She has been a health science teacher at cape fear for 6 months.

HOSA goes to regional, state, and national competitions. These competitions consist of questions from different categories such as CPR, forensics, medical photography, interviewing skills, and many more.

“The best thing about HOSA is you’re learning but having so much fun you don’t even notice,” said member Allie Sutton.

Sutton placed first at regionals in the field of EMT training.

Nicole Jozefowicz also participated in the nutrients category and placed 2nd overall at regionals.

“I was super proud of myself and it made me wanna work harder at getting 1st next time,” said Jozefowicz.

HOSA is an excellent organization with many learning and scholarship opportunities for those interested in the medical field. Anyone interested can find more information in Room 237.