Southeast Missouri

The 4077 Explorer Post is being reactivated at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

The post, founded at Southeast in 1992, is for people ages 14 to 20 who are interested in health care as a possible career.

An open house and orientation about the post and what it will offer will be held at 7 tonight at the hospital's meeting rooms 101 and 102.

Explorer posts are offered through the Boy Scouts of America and are designed to assist young people interested in specific careers to become familiar with as many aspects of those careers as possible.

"There are great opportunities in a variety of professional positions in healthcare," said Southeast administrator James W. Wente.

"These opportunities are wide-ranging and include nursing, lab technology, radiography, administration, surgical technology and many other areas," he said.

Programs planned

Explorer 4077 programs planned in the next few months include the areas of surgery, radiology, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the heart and cardiac catheterization, respiratory therapy, laboratory and pharmacy.

Bill Crowell, senior district executive with the greater St. Louis Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, said the post is open to young people in the Shawnee District, which includes Cape Girardeau, Perry and Bollinger counties. The post will meet twice a month.

"We surveyed students at Cape Central and Notre Dame about possible career choices, and approximately 300 responded they are interested in some aspect of the healthcare field," Crowell said. "There's a big interest in the medical field."

The 4077 will be the only explorer post in the Shawnee District with a healthcare emphasis.

For information or to register for tonight's meeting, call the nursing administration at Southeast Missouri Hospital at 651-5870.