LHC Celebrates 13 Years of Inspiring Future Healthcare Professionals Through “Club Scrub”

Lafayette Hospital + Clinics (LHC) is celebrating the 13th year of its popular Club Scrub program, an initiative designed to educate and inspire young students (7th & 8th grade) to explore careers in healthcare. Club Scrub was developed by the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health for the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative and provides a structured, hands-on program aimed at sparking seventh- and eighth-grade students’ interest in healthcare sciences.

In 2010, LHC launched Club Scrub as a pilot project. There were three participating school districts—Argyle, Belmont, and Darlington, which served a total of 20 students. Participation in the program has steadily increased over the years. While the program was paused in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment rebounded in 2023 with 43 students representing the Argyle, Belmont, Benton, Black Hawk, Darlington, and Shullsburg school districts.

“With our build project and transition in April 2025, we were unable to host Club Scrub last year,” said Marie Wamsley, CEO at LHC. “We are thrilled to welcome students back this year and invite them into our beautiful, state-of-the-art facility.”

In March, participating students will visit LHC one day each week for five engaging, hands-on sessions lasting 45 minutes each. During these sessions, students’ complete activities alongside LHC employees to learn about a variety of healthcare careers. Interactive experiences are led by staff from the rehabilitation, surgery, laboratory, radiology, and nursing departments. These fun, educational experiences give students a unique, behind-the-scenes look at healthcare professions.

As a thank you to the students for participating, they will receive a “Club Scrub” t-shirt. Students also complete evaluations after each session, helping LHC continually improve the program. Participants are encouraged to return to LHC during their high school years to job shadow in departments that pique an interest in their future careers. For more information about Club Scrub, please reach out to tammie.jamiska@lafayettehospital.org.