This July a new, first-of-its-kind day camp will debut for Central Florida area kids thanks to Florida Hospital and Burnham Institute for Medical Research at Lake Nona. The MeD Camp will give high school aged campers the rare opportunity to experience hands-on, cutting-edge technology while they learn from medical experts July 23 and 30.

One camp session will include at trip to Florida Hospital Celebration Health and the Burnham Institute. The other will be housed at Florida Hospital Orlando. Both camps will have question and answer sessions, hands-on activities, a pair of camp only scrubs and more. “These kids will be able to really see what’s happening in hospitals today and how we are really pushing the envelope in science,” says Samantha O’Lenick, executive director of corporate communications and community relations for Florida Hospital. “At their age they are absorbing everything they can and if you expose them to the world of science and medicine, who knows where that will go.”

The day camp was the brainchild of O’Lenick and Deborah Robison, director of communications for Burnham Institute. Together they have crafted a program that will allow the campers to not only experience all that a hospital has to offer from state-of-the-art surgeries to robotics, but they will also be some of the first to see the world-class research initiatives taking place at Burnham’s new facility in Lake Nona. “I know that we are very appreciative of what the city, the county and the state have done to bring us here,” says Robison. “We certainly wanted to be able to give back and become invested and involved in the community as they are with us. We wanted to reach out to students, teachers and the schools to emphasize the importance of scientific studies.”

Robison says that the campers will be some of the first visitors to see the inside of the Burnham Laboratories. “It’s a really exciting opportunity,” she says. “They will be able to meet some of our scientists and see the advanced technologies used in biomedical research.” Technologies like Burnham’s robots in the recently constructed small molecule screening center.  “The robots will be used to screen millions of chemical compounds every day to identify the few that can may have the potential to be developed into new medicines,” according to Robison. “The kids will be literally the first to see them.”

So far the interest in the program has surpassed expectations for Florida Hospital. “We know there is a doctor and nurse shortage right now, but if we can generate the interest and plant the seeds of tomorrow right here it will be a great feeder into our local and national health care systems,” O’Lenick says. Robison agrees: “The goal, of course, is to educate and cultivate an interest in science and research because these are the scientists and doctors of tomorrow.” Space is limited to several dozen campers each session to provide a personal experience to the day and proceeds from the camp session will go directly to the Florida Hospital Foundation

As campers move throughout their day they will see how what they study in the classroom translates to saving lives directly at the hospital and indirectly with biomedical research principals. “Our hope is that they will be able to connect their classroom learning and then be able to see science in action,” says Robison.

If the camp continues to be successful, more will be planned for the future according to O’Lenick. “We certainly have a need,” she says. “Maybe it’s something we will begin doing throughout the year. Maybe we will have more than one session at a time, it all depends on the kids and what they want.”

“We’re writing history in Orlando and it’s something special,” she says. “It’s amazing.”

Interested in registering for the MeD Camp? Click here to find out how.

Article by Corey Gehrold