A record number of participants turned out to support the only fundraiser held for the Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship Fund (IHERF).  More than $100,000 in scholarship funds were contributed by a number of Iowa hospitals and other businesses and individuals who are committed to helping educate health care professionals and keep those professionals practicing in Iowa.

This year, 31 scholarships were awarded totaling $93,000 with more than $500,000 having been awarded since the inception of the program.  Eight of the 31 scholarship recipients were present at the event to formally accept their award as well as to express their gratitude for what the scholarship will enable for their careers.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSayT4hJmDc

Out of the 24 students receiving awards, four of them were able to attend the event to be presented with their “big” checks and to talk about what the scholarship meant to them.

In the video below we spoke to Pam Delagardelle, the IHERF Board Chair, as well as the four recipients:

• Sara Fleecs, St. Anthony Regional Hospital
• Peggy Black, Iowa Health – Des Moines
• Deanna Robey, Blank Children’s Hospital
• Beth Van Maanen, Pella Regional Health Center

(Video link for RSS subscribers).

If you missed the submission deadline this year, head over to the IHERF section of our website so you can start working on your application for 2010.

By mid-afternoon, the skies cleared, the temperature rose and at the end of the day more than $130,000 was raised to support students seeking health care careers in Iowa hospitals.

Participants (more than 190 people registered for this year’s event) also enjoyed an outstanding morning program, featuring keynote speaker Brian Brown, a former world-class high jumper who now directs the Drake Relays.

While the focus of Brown’s presentation was leadership, his first order of business was to recognize recipients of the Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship who were in the audience and recall how scholarships made a difference in his life.

“If it wasn’t for someone else seeing something in me and making a scholarship available to me, there is no way I would be standing before you right now.”

Brown added that his mother, despite her seventh-grade education, pressed him to keep on learning, all the way to the doctorate degree he received in 2005.

Brown talked at length about his keys to leadership, including vision, sacrifice and character.  Another critical element, he said, is service and the ability to relate to people at a level that transcends a leader’s rank in the organization

“You’ve got to love people more than your position. They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  People will listen once they know you have their heart and you care for them as individuals.”

He noted that at the Drake Relays he still rakes out long jump landing pits and helps gather litter, but one of his most important jobs is to let the best people do their jobs.

“My job is stay out of the way.  I still set expectations, I still challenge them, but I don’t pretend to know how to do something someone else has been doing for 45 years.”

Watch the blog this week as we work to edit our videos with each of the scholarship winners.

The 2009 event serves as the major fundraiser for the IHERF Health Care Careers Scholarship Fund, which just this month awarded $72,000 in scholarships to 24 college students from all parts of Iowa.  The students, who are all studying in health care fields, will each receive $3,000 for the upcoming academic year and each is eligible for up to $6,000 in assistance from IHERF over two years.

Iowa hospital and health system CEOs, executive staff and trustees are invited and encouraged to participate in the golf event; download the event brochure and registration form.  A limited number of golfing slots are available, so early registration is encouraged.

IHA would like to recognize the golf event’s top-level sponsors (minimum $5,000 contribution to the scholarship fund):

• ServiShare (Title Co-Sponsor)
• Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa (Title Co-Sponsor)
• Wells Fargo Bank/Public Finance

Other sponsors include:

• Graham Construction (Program Sponsor)
• Baudino Law Group (Award Sponsor)
• Press Ganey Associates, Inc. (Award Sponsor)
• The MMIC Group (Lunch Sponsor)
• Weitz (Dinner Sponsor)
• UMB Bank (Drink Sponsor)

IHA would also like to thank the 30 sponsors that have contributed at the $1,000-$3,000 level.  IHA also recognizes Allen Health System in Waterloo and Mercy Medical Center-Cedar Rapids as returning Hospital/Health System Sponsors, with Buchanan County Medical Center in Independence joining that group this year.

The golf format will be six-person (sponsors assigned to each team) best shot, with prizes to be awarded.  Contact Perry Meyer at IHA with any questions.

[Photo courtesy of The Harvester Golf Club]

IHERF Health Care Careers Scholarship Program

IHA established the IHERF Health Care Careers Scholarship Program in 2004 to help address the ongoing shortage of health care professionals and encourage young Iowans to remain in the state as they establish their careers. The first scholarships were awarded in 2005, and now more than 100 students have benefited from the program. In exchange for financial support, scholarship-receiving students agree to work one year in an Iowa hospital for each year they receive an award.

280 Student Submissions for 2009

The IHERF Board, hospital leaders and IHA Auxilian/Volunteer Board members from throughout the state evaluated scholarship applications from more than 280 students, who were judged on grade-point average, a written personal statement, letters of reference, and extracurricular, community and health care-related activities. Those evaluating the applications noted that this year’s group, which includes both graduate and undergraduate students, was especially competitive and highly qualified.

The next scholarship application period will begin in January 2010.

If you would like to receive an application packet at that time, send IHERF an e-mail.