An Awesome Leader
Every year, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems partners with local schools for the AweSomeBODY project, a program designed to educate and inspire young people about healthcare. Middle school classrooms are paired with a clinical department or service to complete a project relating to that department’s specialty. In 2006, four EMMC departments participated in AweSomeBODY.
Each participating department needs a coordinator for the project—and Alycia Grieco, from The Sleep Center stepped up to fill that role. Alycia worked with the students at the Holbrook School on a project that explored healthy eating. She met with teachers to plan a curriculum, and then made visits to the classroom once a week for six weeks to work with the students. Alycia also coordinated a visit to the hospital, so they could see a working sleep lab up close and personal.
The teachers at Holbrook School report that Alycia made the learning fun, by bringing the textbook to life and sharing her passion for caring for others. Alycia spent many hours preparing for her presentations, carefully considering how she could integrate with the existing curriculum and present the material in an interesting and age-appropriate way. She helped students create their project presentation, which was displayed at the Bangor Mall one Saturday in June for the entire community to see.
Children are the future of healthcare, in both the consumer and provider roles. Programs like AweSomeBODY, and the dedication of leaders like Alycia Greico, ensure that healthcare will have a vibrant future and that our children will be prepared for their own healthcare needs. By giving her time and energy to lead a classroom project, Alycia contributed to EMMC’s mission to care for our community, and solidified that goal for years to come.