by Scott McIntyre on Monday, May 10, 2010
11
Emily Turner
About this time each year, when spring weather seems to be really taking hold and deep greens dominate the landscape, IHA staff get a special assignment – a chance to play Santa Clause.
Our Santa Clauses don’t come bearing festively wrapped parcels. Instead, they hand out freshly cut $3,000 checks to college students studying to enter or further a health care career.
It’s quite a treat for our springtime Santas to make calls to recipients of IHA’s Health Care Careers Scholarships with the good news – and the folks at the other end of the line (32 of them this year) don’t seem to mind, either.
With long strings of “I don’t believe it” and “thank you so much,” these scholars react as if they’ve won the lottery (well, almost), but unlike a lucky drawing, they haven’t won anything. They’ve earned this cash with outstanding academic achievement, glowing letters of recommendation and sincere personal statements that illustrate their commitment to professional, compassionate care for their patients and their communities.
Here is part of what Emily Turner, a two-time scholarship recipient who is progressing toward her nurse practitioner degree while working at Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston, had to say: “What you do is a blessing and I hope you continue to offer this scholarship for years to come. I am honored and thrilled to be able to be a second-time winner and I promise I will fulfill my duties to Iowa and the health care field.”
Hospital CEOs are the lucky ones – they get to read through the applications. Yes, it’s somewhat arduous and definitely time-consuming, but it reminds them that health care still attracts its share of the best and the brightest – probably more than its share. And it confirms that not only are there great minds in health care, but great hearts that are committed to serving their Iowa communities.
It’s also important to note that donations from these hospital leaders helped set up the Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship Fund and have allowed the fund to provide more than $500,000 in scholarships so far.
And it’s also a fact that in addition to supporting IHA’s statewide effort, all Iowa hospitals provide their own scholarship programs for their communities and support education, from preschool to post-doctoral, in countless ways.
It’s great to be Santa.
Mitchell County Regional Health Center, through its Foundation, provides three $1000 scholarships each year to graduating seniors from Mitchell County who are entering a medical profession. The scholarship can be used to reimburse the student for text books, up to $500 per year for two years during the students’ college career. The student can elect to use the scholarship during the first two years or defer to a later year when they might not have as much scholarship assistance. Students applying for the scholarship submit a resume detailing their life experience and write an essay describing what sets them apart from other students and why they need the scholarship. This was the 6th year of the Mitchell County Memorial Foundation scholarship.
The employees of Montgomery County Memorial Hospital each year provide scholarships for high school graduating seniors going into a health care field. The money is raised totally by the employees through payroll deduction, bake sales, and other fundraisers. Five scholarships will be awarded this year.
Lucas County Health Center (Chariton) provides scholarships each year to graduating high school seniors as well as to adult learners pursuing education in health-related fields. The annual LCHC Volunteer Services Scholarship Candy Sale held for Valentine’s Day raised enough funds this year that LCHC was able to award three $500 scholarships in 2010. Recipients will be notified May 12.
Mercy Medical Center – Dubuque also awards scholarships to graduating high school seniors. Five $500 scholarships are given annually to students in Mercy’s service area who plan to pursue a career in nursing. We awarded this year’s scholarships in April.
Genesis Health System, Davenport, has awarded a total of 44 nursing scholarships worth $123,000 recently. Included are 40 degree-completion scholarships for employed Genesis nurses who are working toward BSN and MSN degrees. The other four scholarships are $10,000 grants to nursing students in the 10-county region served by Genesis. The grants are forgivable if the nursing students agree to work at Genesis for at least two years following graduation.
Mercy Hospital Foundation has awarded 10 new scholarships to area high school seniors pursuing a career in the health care field. The students were recognized at a ceremony at Mercy Iowa City on April 28, 2010.
The scholarships provide each student $1,000 a year, renewable for up to four years. The 2010 recipients, selected from 32 applicants, represent eight area high schools. They plan to enter nursing, pharmacy, biology and physical therapy programs. The recipients and the high schools they attend are:
Bethany Carney, Williamsburg High School
Kayley Hakeman, Williamsburg High School
Mollie Kleopfer, Highland High School
Matthew Miller, Regina High School
Allison Roe, City High School
Sara Stewart, West High School
Brittnee Stumpf, Mid-Prairie High School
Vi Tran-Phan, West High School
Amanda Ulin, Solon High School
Grace Winstead, West High School
This is the eighth year Health Career Scholarships have been awarded by the Foundation. Mercy employees are the primary funding source of the scholarships, directing donations to the scholarships through an employee campaign conducted in April. Mercy Hospital Guild and Foundation donors also provided funds for the program.
Floyd Valley Hospital’s Auxiliary (Le Mars) provides 2 $1000 scholarships to traditional or non-traditional students to help with tuition. Those applying need to be a resident of the Floyd Valley Hospital service area, be pursuing a health care field and attending an accredited program. Applications are available in January, due April 1 and the winners are presented during National Hospital Week. For more information, please check our website at floydvalleyhospital.org.
The Buena Vista Regional Medical Center Auxiliary provides 3 Nursing scholarships that are awarded each spring. These are available to people that are planning on going into the medical field. There are 3 catagories: High School Senior, BVRMC Employee, Family Member of a BVRMC Employee. A $500.00 scholarship is awarded in each catagory. Applications and letters go out to school couselors in BV County each September and the deadline for completed applications is March 31. For more information, go to our website http://www.bvrmc.org and click on the Services tab.
Mercy – North Iowa Foundation (Mason City) offers the George I. and Eunice A. Tice Scholarship. Established in December 1990, the Dr. George I. and Eunice A. Tice Scholarship Fund provides tuition scholarships to students enrolled and/or accepted into a program pursuing a medical field. Dr. Tice’s wife, Eunice, family members, and memorial contributions, started the Tice Scholarship Fund in memory of Dr. Tice, a long-time physician. Dr. Tice joined his father in medical practice in Mason City in 1947 and worked as a general surgeon for more than 41 years. The scholarship fund, in the last ten years, has provided approximately $250,000 in financial support to students. Recipients must be and have graduated from high school within the service area of Mercy Medical Center – North Iowa. Applications are accepted in November through January and awarded in the spring.
Great River Friends, a community of donors and volunteers that support Great River Health Systems (West Burlington) recently awarded $1,000 scholarships to 10 area students who are pursuing careers in health care.
The high-school seniors who received scholarships are:
• Lance Beckman, Burlington, Burlington Community High School, physical therapy
• Ariel Bloomberg, West Burlington, West Burlington High School, medicine
• Danielle Case, West Burlington, Notre Dame High School, pharmacy
• Carl Hartweg, Carthage, Ill., Illini West High School, medicine
• Shayla Hopp, Burlington, Burlington Community High School, physical therapy
• Anna Kottenstette, Burlington, Notre Dame High School, medicine
• Abbey Mulford, Mt. Pleasant, Mt. Pleasant High School, pharmacy
• Natalie Northup, Dallas City, Ill., Illini West High School, medicine
• Beckah Swan, Keokuk, Keokuk High School, nursing
The winner of a scholarship for a student who is changing careers and entering the health-care field is Gina Gerstel of Lomax, Ill., who is studying nursing at Southeastern Community College.
Since inception in 2003, the Buena Vista Regional Healthcare Foundation has awarded forty-nine $1000 scholarship to area nursing students. All scholarships are funded by donations. This year, ten scholarships were awarded, seven of which are “named” scholarships given by benefactors who have a strong belief in the future of nursing and the important role they play. One of the previous scholarship recipients, Melissa Temple, a nurse at Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, was named one of the Top 100 Nurses in Iowa this year. What a testament to the value of the scholarship program!