Club Scrub
- Need: Impact healthcare workforce shortages in rural Wisconsin.
- Intervention: The Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, leveraging evidence-informed grow-your-own pipeline activities to generate interest in health-related professions, partnered with the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health to create the Club Scrub program for 7th and 8th graders.
- Results: The original 2006-2007 program results revealed that participants gained a better understanding of career options in the healthcare industry and annual Club Scrub events continue to be sponsored by several Wisconsin rural healthcare delivery systems.
Description
An on-going challenging for rural communities is their healthcare workforce shortages. Scholarly evidence indicates that pipeline activities — “pipeline” referring to K-12 grade activities — can be effective in rural areas. In June 2006-June 2007, the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC), then a network of 44 rural hospitals, worked with its members to create the Club Scrub program. The program's goal was providing middle school students — usually 7th and 8th graders — with exposure to healthcare careers by creating a hands-on activities event that also included direct contact with a variety of rural healthcare professionals.
Programs were originally funded by Wisconsin Office of Rural Health (WI-ORH) grants and the Office also co-authored the free online program toolkit.
Although the Office continues to host the toolkit but no longer funds nor organizes events, sustainability is demonstrated by continued annual programs sponsored by several Wisconsin rural healthcare delivery systems.
Services offered
With the WI-ORH support, the original pipeline program was provided at no-cost to the students and participants worked alongside rural hospital employees from a wide-range of disciplines, including:
- Emergency services
- Dietary
- Rehabilitation
- Respiratory therapy
- Nursing
- Laboratory
Results
Approximately 160 middle school students completed the initial Club Scrub program in 2006-2007 and gave the activity high-ratings. Several rural Wisconsin healthcare delivery systems continue to offer the program regularly, an informal endorsement that the program remains effective.
Replication
The program can be adapted to accommodate budgets of varying sizes and easily adapted for younger or older students. The WI-ORH-hosted toolkit details information valuable for any new start-up program:
- A program overview
- Forms and communications
- Club Scrub meeting ideas
- Lesson plans for different departments
- The Club Scrub Cookbook
Contact Information
Kevin Jacobson, Rural Communities Program ManagerWisconsin Office of Rural Health (WI-ORH)
kmjacobson2@wisc.edu
Topics
Children and youth
· Health workforce pipeline
· Schools
States served
Wisconsin
Date added
March 31, 2008
Suggested citation: Rural Health Information Hub, 2025 . Club Scrub [online]. Rural Health Information Hub. Available at: https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/project-examples/459 [Accessed 11 December 2025]
Please contact the models and innovations contact directly for the most complete and current information about this program. Summaries of models and innovations are provided by RHIhub for your convenience. The programs described are not endorsed by RHIhub or by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Each rural community should consider whether a particular project or approach is a good match for their community’s needs and capacity. While it is sometimes possible to adapt program components to match your resources, keep in mind that changes to the program design may impact results.