Nimitz HEAL Students Build Healthcare Skills Through Summer Infusion Experience

Disponible en: Español

Through Aldine ISD’s partnership with Memorial Hermann, the Summer Infusion Experience introduced HEAL students to healthcare pathways, emergency response, wellness, hospital operations, and simulated patient care while giving upper-grade students opportunities to lead.

The patient was a 16-year-old student athlete with a knee injury. The healthcare team had to move quickly — and carefully — from admission to assessment, preparation, surgery, and recovery.

For Aldine ISD Health Education And Learning (HEAL) students at Nimitz High School, the scenario was simulated. The learning was real.

The patient-care simulation was one part of the 2026 HEAL Summer Infusion Experience, a hands-on series of learning opportunities provided through Aldine ISD’s partnership with Memorial Hermann. The experience gives students early exposure to healthcare careers, hospital-based learning, professional expectations, and the teamwork required to support safe, high-quality patient care.

This year’s Summer Infusion activities included pathway exploration, emergency response training, wellness and communication sessions, immersive hospital-based learning, student volunteer leadership opportunities, and a patient-care flow simulation in the new wing of the HEAL program at Nimitz High School.

Exploring the Pathways

The experience began on June 8 with pathway-specific learning for freshman HEAL students. Students were introduced to the program’s five pathways — nursing, pharmacy, hospital business administration, medical imaging, and physical and occupational rehabilitation. They explored career roles, educational requirements, workplace expectations, and pathway-specific skills.

As part of the pathway activities, students reviewed information about each field, discussed what interested them, and worked in small groups to create recruitment posters showcasing a healthcare pathway. The activity encouraged students to imagine their futures and consider how a healthcare career could fit into those goals.

Learning to Respond and Lead

As Summer Infusion continued, students participated in rotations focused on Life Flight, Stop the Bleed, emergency services, and CPR fundamentals, where they explored emergency response systems and life-saving interventions through hands-on demonstrations and interactive learning.

Students learned foundational concepts connected to bleeding control, CPR principles, and emergency response procedures while gaining a better understanding of how emergency medical teams respond in critical situations.

The experience also emphasized wellness, communication and the connection between physical, mental and emotional health.

Students also participated in a Memorial Hermann experience designed to introduce hospital operations, healthcare professions, and workplace expectations, giving them a closer look at how healthcare teams work together in a real-world setting.

“Summer Infusion gives our students an opportunity to see healthcare beyond the classroom,” said Yrayda López-Silva, HEAL program leader at Nimitz High School. “They begin to understand that every role in healthcare matters and that patient care is built on teamwork, communication, and trust. It helps them see themselves in these careers and understand the impact they can have on others.”

The Summer Infusion Experience also included opportunities for students in grades 10 and 11 to serve as student volunteers. In those roles, students supported logistics, classroom operations, and participant engagement by organizing materials and learning spaces and modeling professionalism for younger students.

The volunteer component was designed to help upper-grade students strengthen communication, teamwork, leadership, and professional skills in a supervised environment while continuing to gain exposure to healthcare careers.

Following the Patient Journey

For HEAL students in grades 10 and 11, the second week of Summer Infusion culminated in a large-scale patient-care simulation involving approximately 141 students across five rotating groups.

During the simulation, students followed one patient’s journey from the moment they entered a hospital through treatment, surgery, and recovery.

Students moved through stations focused on hospital business administration, pre-operative care, sterility, the operating room, post-anesthesia care, and rehabilitation. Along the way, they learned how healthcare professionals work together to provide safe, coordinated care.

At the first station, students explored the role of hospital business administration by reviewing how patients are welcomed, registered, and prepared for care. They discussed why accurate information, consent forms, insurance verification, and clear communication matter before treatment begins.

From there, students moved to clinical stations, where they assessed vital signs, pain levels, allergies, medications, safety checks, and patient education. They practiced thinking like members of a healthcare team, asking what information would be needed to safely care for an injured student-athlete.

In the sterility station, students learned about infection prevention, hand hygiene, scrubbing, and garbing. In the simulated operating room, they explored surgical instruments, sterile technique, room setup, and the importance of communication and attention to detail during a procedure.

The patient-care journey continued into recovery and rehabilitation. Students learned how post-anesthesia care, pain management, vital signs, medication guidance, physical therapy, and occupational therapy help patients regain strength, mobility, and independence after surgery.

The rotations reinforced a central lesson of the HEAL program: healthcare is not a single job or a single department. It is a coordinated team effort. Every role matters to the patient’s success.

Launched in 2024, the HEAL program is supported by a $31 million investment from Bloomberg Philanthropies — the largest private foundation grant in Aldine ISD history. The program was launched through a partnership among Aldine ISD, Memorial Hermann, and Bloomberg Philanthropies to prepare students for high-demand healthcare careers while helping address local workforce needs.

HEAL is being phased in over four academic years and is designed to serve approximately 760 students at capacity. The program currently serves freshmen through juniors and will welcome its first senior class during the 2027-2028 school year.

For students, Summer Infusion helps make the connection between classroom learning and patient care visible. Each activity gives them a clearer understanding of the expectations of the healthcare field while building confidence, curiosity, and a stronger sense of what is possible.

By the end of the experience, students had explored career pathways, practiced emergency response concepts, reflected on wellness and communication, experienced hospital-based learning, and followed a simulated patient from admission to recovery.

It was more than a summer program. It was a glimpse into the future HEAL students are already working toward — one pathway, one patient, and one #AldineStory at a time, with a clearer understanding of what that future can be.

Click here to see more images from Summer Infusion 2026 with HEAL Program students at Nimitz High School.