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Students at Bluegrass Community and Techincal College’s Winchester campus experienced a different kind of March Madness on Thursday.

“This event is called Medical Madness, and it is a health fair event to try to connect students up with health care programs, then with career and employers,” the campus director, Bruce Manley, said.

This year’s fair was the second iteration and the first to be held in person on BCTC’s campus.

During the fair, Manley said that students could speak to representatives from around “seven to eight” medical programs ranging from eight local employers in the medical field.

One of the employers that the fair goers could speak with was Rosemary C. Brooks Place.

“We have a lot of variety,” the facility’s director, Tim Janes, said about employment opportunities there. “We have everything from marketing to maintenance to our caregivers. There is a lot of opportunity in the senior living environment.”

There are also local opportunities in the public health sector at the Clark County Health Department.

“Right now, we actually have openings in our HANDS Program, which is our home visit program for new and expectant parents,” Public Health Director Becky Kissick said. “We have openings in outreach, which is our community health education, as well as we are looking at positions in our clinic coming open.”

BCTC student Shari Van Leuven is already in the medical assistant program but said she found the fair to be very informative.

“I’m even interested in some of the programs, maybe afterward. The prosthetic one is really cool, and so is respiratory therapy.”

Van Leuven said that the fair also helped her find other resources to help with her education.

“The most helpful table for me was the one right before we got in the door where they have a new grant for childcare they are starting. I might be able to get free childcare next semester,” she said.

BCTC also offers several programs related to the medical field.

“We are trying to make sure that we connect students with the right training to the right career, and we want them to get their start here at BCTC,” Manley said.

The Winchester campus offers programs that provide certification in medication aid, nursing aid and phlebotomy. It also offers a complete two-year program in medical assistance.

BCTC Winchester’s programs qualify for the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program, which helps Kentucky residents who do not already have a degree afford an industry-recognized certificate or diploma. For more information on the scholarship, visit www.workreadykentucky.com.