ORANGE BEACH, Ala. —  It was a natural fit for Dale Jernigan and it happened to come at just the right time.

Jernigan is heading up one of 10 new academies in Gulf Shores High School’s Learning for Life program Career Academy.

She is using space in the Orange Beach Medical Arts Building donated to the school by South Baldwin Regional Medical Hospital to run the Health Sciences Academy.

As a mother of two, Jernigan found herself constantly involved in the schools attended by her sons Kemp and Basch. When Basch graduated from Gulf Shores in May and made plans to attend Tulane, she found that part of her life might be coming to close.

“I’ve been in it from day one from Mother’s Day Out all the way through,” she said.

And when she saw the plans for the new academy program at Gulf Shores, she saw a way to stay involved.

“So I felt like I knew the teachers, I knew the school and (principal) Ernie Rosado’s a great man,” she said. “I just thought ‘I’d love to be a part of this.’ I got my teacher certification, I’ve taken all the tests, taken all the courses.

“It just came open right when I was ready. It’s perfect, it really is.”

It didn’t hurt that Jernigan had a medical background with an R.N. degree and a masters as well.

“I did all kinds of stuff,” she said. “I started at South Baldwin. I was the director of nursing there in the early 80s, started the education department. Then I went into consulting and I wrote a couple of textbooks I have here about nursing human resource management.

“I did this and then after so many years we just decided I was going to have children and we decided I would just raise the kids and I did all the volunteering and the schools and you saw me everywhere.”

Through it all she kept up her nursing license and saw the academy program as a way to stay involved in the schools and use her expertise.

“When I saw this I thought, ‘I’ve been in the school system all these years,’” she said.

Now she greets four full classes every day to begin giving them a foundation in the health sciences.

“We’re starting out with the fundamental course, the beginner course,” she said.

“Ninth graders will be in the fundamentals and then the next year I’m going to add a course for the second level which will be more physiology, disease process, a little more advanced. And if they stay with me the junior year will be either sports medicine - and we‘re debating what we’re going to do – but it’s a further study.”

By the time they are seniors, provided they stick with the health academy, they’ll be doing internships in their chosen field.

“Then I’ll line up their senior year where they are interested in working whether it be pharmacy, physical therapy and they will have a whole year like an internship,” Jernigan said. “Or they go to school in the morning and work all afternoon.”

Because this is the first year of the academy upperclassmen are also enrolled although they won’t get to complete the entire program.

The Learning for Life academies began this fall at Gulf Shores. Every student must pick from three of the 10 fields to study and they are placed in academies according to availability.

Jernigan’s classes are at full capacity.

Baldwin Regional Medical Regional Medical Center is the sole sponsor for the Health Sciences Academy, not only donating space but supplies as well.

“I’ve gotten all sorts of great support especially South Baldwin,” Jernigan said. “This is being funded and provided by South Baldwin Regional Medical Center. Their staff has been made available to me. Their head educator, Connie Pizzoti, she set up all the equipment, brought in all the supplies.

“Keith Newton’s been amazing. He really has.”

Newton is the CEO of South Baldwin, which contributed about $20,000 in addition to the space for the academy and supplies.

The clinic includes a classroom area set up in the hallway, an examination room, a hospital room and lots and lots of props from skeletons to models of human organs.

“It’s closer to $40,000 of you look at the facilities and the lights and the supplies and the internet hookup,” Jernigan said. “Everything’s here.”

The hospital, she says, will eventually reap the benefits of a homegrown workforce to staff the hospital in coming years.

“The whole idea, of course, is they would love to cultivate future employees,” she said. “They want to keep them in the community or they go off to school and come back.”

That concept is working in other areas of the medical fields as well. Jernigan has guest speakers ranging from pharmacists to EMTs from Gulf Shores Fire and Rescue to Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft to talk about his diabetes to Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon who formerly owned and managed a sports rehabilitation company.

“I am doing some hands-on for instance we’re doing CPR certification,” Jernigan said. “Ron West from the fire department, he’s going to come over with some EMTs and help me do first-aid certification. I’ve taught vital signs, how to take blood pressure. So we’re doing some skills, but it’s just very introductory because they are young.”

Some students find the medical field is not for them and some embrace it and are already asking about intern possibilities, Jernigan said. But that, Jernigan also said, is the key to the academies. Letting students try certain fields to see which one they might like to pursue further.

“These kids, they just need a lot of guidance,” she said. “We have a lot of good kids, but a lot of them don’t have a clue what they want to do.”