Health care effort in full swing

To the Editor:

South-central Indiana is facing a shortage of qualified medical professionals because of intense competition with other cities.

This includes physicians, nurses, therapists, technicians and many other professions. Realizing that our best recruitment advantage is a local connection, I asked my fellow healthcare professionals to help engage local youth to consider becoming the next generation of providers.

The response is Real Life Science: Examining Medical Careers, a collaborative effort by area health care providers, Bloomington Hospital, Indiana University and Ivy Tech Community College, to attract area youth to health care professions.

The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 9, at the WonderLab Museum in Bloomington.

Participants will get to talk one-on-one with health care professionals about their jobs, work with medical technology and talk with college faculty and students about educational pathways.

Details are on WonderLab's website, wonderlab.org.

Last year, this event attracted hundreds of teens and pre-teens. Admission is just $3, thanks to a generous Community Foundation grant.

Please encourage the teenagers in your communities to attend this important event. Our future will be in their hands.

Peter Wallskog, M.D.,

Internal Medicine Associates,

Bloomington, Ind.