Dunham Nursing Scholarships - Advancing Nursing in Aurora

In September 2009, a collaborative of area health care partners, represented by Alden of Waterford, Aurora University, Dreyer Medical Clinic, Kane County Health Department, Provena Mercy Medical Center, Rush-Copley Foundation, Rush-Copley Medical Center, VNA of Fox Valley and Waubonsee Community College, was awarded a two-year, $750,000 grant from the Dunham Fund to implement a nursing scholarship program to advance nursing in the Aurora area. The grant created Dunham Nursing Scholarships to build a high-performing, diverse workforce of nurses within the Dunham Fund’s service area.

On January 9, 2010 the collaborative awarded fifty local nursing students with scholarships to begin or continue their education at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels. The inaugural class of the Dunham Nursing Scholarships - Advancing Nursing in Aurora program was awarded the scholarships in a ceremony at Aurora University’s Dunham Hall. The scholarships will fund up to 90 percent of tuition for an associate degree in nursing at Waubonsee Community College and up to 75 percent for a baccalaureate or graduate degree in nursing at Aurora University.

This program will help the Dunham Fund to realize its intent to respond to the increasing need for quality nursing education and to invest in the future of quality healthcare in its service area. “The Dunham Fund’s mission focuses on education and community development. Through the Dunham Nursing Scholarship program, we are able to accomplish both goals by enabling motivated and capable people to further their professional education while at the same time helping the community become more capable of meeting vital health care needs.” said Ryan J. Maley, chair of the Dunham Fund Board of Advisors.

The collaborative was urged to select scholarship recipients representative of the diverse population of the greater Aurora community that they will serve. The primary goal of the Dunham Nursing Scholarship Program is to equip nursing graduates with critical thinking skills and to enhance their ability to identify patient needs to prevent complications and provide high-quality outcomes in diverse healthcare environments.

Of the fifty scholarship recipients, twenty-nine are enrolled at Aurora University and twenty-one are students at Waubonsee Community College. Thirty of the recipients already work at community health care institutions, including several of the collaborative organizations. Thirteen of the students are bilinqual. Over the next two years the scholarships will support the education of over 100 nursing students at both educational institutions at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels.

Nursing Scholarship award recipients met the following criteria:

• Residency in the greater Aurora area as defined by the Dunham Fund for one year prior to application and/or employment in a full-time or part-time capacity by a greater Aurora area employer within the Dunham Fund service area for a period of one year prior to application.
• Citizenship of the United States or lawful permanent alien residency.
• Ability to demonstrate a satisfactory employment record and submission of the most recent performance evaluation.
• Enrollment in, acceptance by, or registration for admission in a nursing education program at Waubonsee Community College or Aurora University.
• 50% or more of a nursing education program to complete.
• Willingness to participate in a Dunham Scholars volunteer healthcare project that benefits the greater Aurora area community during the two-year scholarship program and
• Willingness to work in the greater Aurora area, for two years (full-time) or 4,000 hours following graduation.

Representatives of the collaborative partner organizations in the Dunham Nursing Scholarship Program

Bottom row to top, left to right; (row 1): Mary Bailey, RN, BSN, Director of Patient Care Services, Dreyer Medical Clinic; Barbara A. Graham, MBA, Executive Director, Rush-Copley Foundation; Mary Shilkaitis, BSN, MS, Vice president of Patient Care Services/CNO, Rush-Copley Medical Center; (row 2): Darla Mullner, MS, Director, Human Resources, Rush-Copley Medical Center; Nora O'Gorman, MA, LNHA, Administrator, Alden of Waterford; Mary Zokan, BA, Director, Marketing, Rush-Copley Medical Center; (row 3): Helen Agomo, RN, MSN, ASN, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Provena Mercy Medical Center; Terri Horton-O'Connell, MSW, Grant Officer, Rush-Copley Foundation; (row 4): Claire Dobbins, MS, RN, Director, Health Protection Division, Kane County Health Department; Jodie Beverage, MSN, RN, CNOR, OR Clinical Educator, Rush-Copley Medical Center; Carmella Moran, Ph.D., RN, Director/Associate Professor School of Nursing, Aurora University; (row 5): Jess Toussaint, Ed.D., Dean for Health and Life Sciences, Waubonsee Community College; David T. Koch, MBA, Vice president of Patient Services/COO, VNA of Fox Valley. Not pictured: Dennis J. Keane, MD, Medical Director, Inpatient Rehabilitation Services, Rush-Copley Medical Center.