The Texas County Memorial Hospital Healthcare Foundation awarded $2,000 in scholarships to area students to assist with their educational costs for the 2009 fall school semester.
Sarah Warner of Houston and Colette Briggs of Summersville were the recipients chosen by the foundation board of directors from several applications received.
Warner, a 2007 graduate of Houston High School, is enrolled at Missouri State University, where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology. Warner has already been accepted into the Bryant Program, an early admissions program to the medical school at the University of Missouri.
Briggs is enrolled at Drury University, where she is fulfilling the prerequisites needed for her bachelor’s degree in nursing. She is a registered nurse and the infection control nurse manager at TCMH. She previously received a scholarship from the foundation in the spring of ’07 and fall of ’08.
“The TCMH Healthcare Foundation has identified educational scholarships as a way to promote healthcare education in Texas County,” said Jay Gentry, healthcare foundation director.
For the past three years, the foundation held a golf tournament with educational scholarships as the specific focus of the tournament. From funds raised at the tournament, the foundation gives two $1,000 scholarships each spring and fall.
“The foundation board of directors hopes that these scholarships will assist in attracting and retaining qualified residents to work in the local healthcare fields,” Gentry said.
The foundation intends to award two $1,000 scholarships before the spring school semester in 2010. Applications for the scholarships will be accepted beginning Nov. 1, and the scholarships will be awarded in January 2010. The scholarship application is available online at www.tcmh.org.
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.