40-Year Employee Scholarship Program Reaches $1 Million in Awards

Twenty-two Saddleback Memorial employees were awarded $50,000 toward tuition to further their higher education at Saddleback Memorial Foundation’s 40th annual Scholarship Awards on July 13, 2017.

At the awards ceremony, Marcia Manker, Saddleback Memorial CEO, congratulated the employees for continuing to pursue their education. She believes the staff’s commitment to education is directly related to the numerous patient care awards and honors Saddleback Memorial receives year after year.

This year, the Scholarship Program broke the $1 million mark, having distributed $1,040,990 since 1977. In the past 40 years, the program has awarded scholarships to 591 employees.

“This could not be possible without the continuous generosity of our scholarship donors,” said Cecilia Belew, president of Saddleback Memorial Foundation.

Highlighting the importance of continuing education, guest speaker Virginia Pillsbury, chair of the Scholarship Committee and a Saddleback Memorial Foundation board member, brought to life her journey in higher education. Pillsbury herself received several degrees during her teaching career, many of which she earned while she was working full-time, like the Saddleback Memorial employees.

Many of the scholarship recipients are registered nurses attaining their bachelor’s or master’s degrees. a contributor to improved patient outcomes. The degrees are important for the hospital’s effort toward Magnet designation, recognizes health care organizations for high-quality patient care, nursing excellence, and innovations in professional nursing practice. It is given by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. To achieve this, 100 percent of nurse managers are required to have a B.S.N. degree.

To apply for a scholarship, the employees must be full- or part-time Saddleback Memorial employees with a minimum of one full year of employment. They must be taking courses for

credit at an eligible, accredited educational institution, and must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher. All scholarship winners completed a rigorous application that also required a supervisor’s recommendation letter.

All applications were submitted in April. The application data was compiled and then reviewed by the Foundation’s Scholarship Committee to determine awardees and amounts. The scholarship funds are paid as tuition from the Foundation directly to the educational institution.

The scholarship awards are named after the donors who have generously gifted funds for this program. Scholarship award recipients and their cities of residence are listed below:

• Sara Mowry, R.N. (Mission Viejo) – Surgical Orthopedics/Neurology

DAMSKER AWARD

• Nickhat Ahmed, R.N. (Mission Viejo) – Cardiac Telemetry
• Oliver Delacruz, R.N. (Mission Viejo) – Cardiac Telemetry

NURSES 4 NURSES AWARD

• Ann Burns, R.N. (Mission Viejo) – Surgical Orthopedics/Neurology

VIRGINIA PILLSBURY AWARD

• Tiffany Laffen, R.N. (Huntington Beach) – Cardiovascular Observation Unit

RABINOV AWARD

• Vanthu Nancy Leykauf (Ladera Ranch) – Catheterization Lab

SADDLEBACK KIWANIS AWARD

• Chetna Chouhan, R.N. (Laguna Niguel) – Cardiovascular Observation Unit/Catheterization Lab
• Tina Marie Stewart, R.N. (San Clemente) – Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT AWARD

• Jennifer Calley, R.N. (Dana Point) – Post-Anesthesia Care Unit
• Lauren Cook, R.N. (Rancho Santa Margarita) – Surgical Orthopedics/Neurology
• Maria Hilton, R.N. (Mission Viejo) – Medical Oncology
• Denise Lane, R.N. (Mission Viejo) – Outpatient Observation
• Nicole McComb, R.N. (Oceanside) – Surgical Orthopedics/Neurology
• Heather Reid (Tustin) – Care Coordination
• Stephen Rich, R.N. (Lake Forest) – Intensive Care Unit
• Jeffrey Riedel, R.N. (Portola Hills) – Emergency Services
• Dominique Shamas, R.N. (Mission Viejo) – Intensive Care Unit
• Jordana Spangler, R.N. (San Clemente) – Telemetry
• Aliona Telechi, R.N. (San Clemente) – Intensive Care Unit

JOHNNIE VANCE AWARD

• Diana Chavez (San Juan Capistrano) – Breast Center

JERRY WERNER AWARD

• Elizabeth Gonzalez, R.N. (Corona) – Emergency Services
• Shellie Graves, R.N. (San Clemente) – Post-Anesthesia Care Unit