Media Invited to View CVS Camp Apple in Action August 12, 2009

DETROIT, MI -- At CVS Camp Apple, 29 high school students are being taken on a fast-paced, hands-on, week-long educational experience into the growing career opportunities for health care professionals. The camp is being held Aug. 10 - 14 in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (EACPHS) at Wayne State University (WSU). CVS Camp Apple is a partnership between CVS Caremark Workforce Initiatives and the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

In the final week of the CVS Caremark Workforce Initiatives program, the students from five southeast Michigan high schools will follow a hypothetical patient through diagnosis of a life-threatening disease through treatment to end of life stages. Leading the students on the CVS Camp Apple career experience are faculty members from the EACPHS programs of physician assistant studies, clinical laboratory science, pharmacy, radiologic technology, physical therapy, nurse anesthesia, anatomic pathologists' assistant, and mortuary science.

"The experience is intended to increase awareness of health science careers beyond the traditionally popular and well-known professions of nursing and medicine," said Mary K. Clark, assistant dean for Student and Alumni Affairs at the WSU college. "There is a growing demand for professionals in the health sciences, such as the careers explored at our CVS Camp Apple."

In addition to learning the responsibilities of the health science professions, students will work on teams and prepare a presentation on their collective camp experience. Each team will create a multi-media presentation on the value and benefit of a career in the health sciences. Workshops will provide information on preparing for a career in the health sciences, how to maximize academic advising appointments, and accessing financial aid.

"These students are 11th and 12th graders who are considering and preparing for their career choices following high school graduation. We want to give them the tools to make the best choices and hopefully pursue careers in the health sciences professions, preferably in one of the best health care science programs in the state and country, offered by the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences," Clark said.

Prior to attending CVS Camp Apple, the students are wrapping up a five- week summer internship at various CVS/pharmacy stores in their communities. The experience exposes students to the retail pharmacy professions and broadens their personal and professional development.

The students are from Cass Technical, Crockett, Renaissance High Schools in Detroit, Fitzgerald High School in Warren, and Port Huron High School in Port Huron.

For information on the programs offered through the Office of Student and Alumni Affairs to assist students in learning about the academic health science programs offered through the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, please contact the college at (313) 577-1716 or email: cphsinfo@wayne.edu.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Media is invited to see CVS Camp Apple in action and to interview students at 10:15 a.m., Wednesday, August 12, 2009 in the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, 259 Mack Avenue, Detroit.

Location/Parking: Entrance to the EACPHS building is on Brady Street at John R, across from the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan. Parking is available in the Wayne State University structure on John R, directly across from the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan.

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, a founding college of Wayne State University, is committed to advancing the health and well-being of society through the preparation of highly skilled health care practitioners, and through research to improve health care practices and treatment from the urban to global levels.

Wayne State University is a world class institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.