The Texas County Memorial Hospital Healthcare Foundation awarded two $500 scholarships to area students to assist with their educational costs for the 2008 spring school semester.
Doug Crase of Edgar Springs and James Holland of Houston were the recipients chosen by the foundation board of directors from several applications received.
Crase is a pre-medical student at Missouri State University in Springfield and is a radiologic technologist at TCMH. He is pursuing additional medical education with aspirations to be a radiologist.
Holland is a second-year student in the radiologic technology program at Rolla Technical Center in Rolla. He is currently employed as a student radiologic technologist at TCMH.
“Educational scholarships are one of the focus areas of the TCMH Healthcare Foundation,” said Jay Gentry, foundation director.
Initially in 2006, the foundation held a golf tournament with educational scholarships as the specific focus of the tournament.
“We had another successful golf tournament in 2007, raising over $8,000,” Gentry said. “We already have the 2008 scholarship fund-raiser tournament planned for June 14 at Oakwood Golf Course in Houston.”
According to Gentry, the healthcare foundation intends to award two more $500 scholarships before the fall school semester in 2008. Applications for the scholarships are available through the foundation or on the TCMH Web site.
“As the foundation’s funds grow the board of directors of the foundation plan to award larger scholarships,” Gentry said, noting that the foundation is also actively pursing an endowment for scholarships.
The foundation scholarships are designated toward students pursuing education in the field of healthcare and residing in the TCMH service area, which encompasses all of Texas County and parts of surrounding counties.
“The foundation board of directors recognizes the growing need for healthcare providers in rural America,” Gentry said. “It is the hope of the foundation that these scholarships will help attract and retain qualified residents to work in the local healthcare fields.”