SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 15, 2010) — The Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio today presented $202,500 to the UT Health Science Center San Antonio to support 53 scholarship recipients.
This is the fifth year the foundation has provided scholarships to Health Science Center students. Recipients are pursuing careers in these professions: medicine, dentistry, clinical pharmacy, dental hygiene, respiratory care, clinical laboratory sciences, occupational therapy, physician assistant studies, physical therapy and nursing.
“The Baptist Health Foundation is making a significant investment in a large and critically important cadre of health professionals for our region and state,” said William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, president of the Health Science Center. “Half of the recipients (27 of 53) are studying for leadership positions in the nursing profession, which is noteworthy given the state and national shortages of nurses and nurse educators.”
The relatively young foundation, established in 2005, has now granted 186 scholarships totaling $675,000 to the Health Science Center. “The Foundation is pleased that we could increase our grants this year by adding five new scholarships totaling $20,000,” said W. Frank Elston, president and CEO of the Baptist Health Foundation. Ken Andrews, Ph.D., chairman of the foundation board, joined Elston in announcing the funding.
Attendees at the presentation included Francisco González-Scarano, M.D., vice president for medical affairs at the Health Science Center and dean of the School of Medicine, and Eileen Breslin, Ph.D., dean of the School of Nursing.
The fall 2010 Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio Student Scholars and their degree programs are:
Doctor of Medicine: Adam Mankowski and Ariel Vinas; Doctor of Dental Surgery: Steven Hogan and Katherine Shao; Doctor of Pharmacy: Monica Haddican and Hannah Sulik; Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene: Parisah Alizadeh, Jennifer Harland and Rene Villarreal; B.S. in Respiratory Care: Ryan Araiza, Alexandrea Escobedo and Phung Giang; B.S. in Clinical Laboratory Sciences: Danielle Mitchell, Matthew Pokorney and Brandi West; Master of Science in Occupational Therapy: Brittany Creel, Amy Guerrero and Crystal Rempfer; M.S. in Physician Assistant Studies: Jessica Hanson, Amela Rizvic, Megan Sewell and Karina Villarreal; Doctor of Physical Therapy: Francis Bisagni, Samantha Kidd, Jake Mitchell and Rebecca Oliver; B.S. in Nursing: Jennifer Blaise, Samantha Hutchinson and Traci Klemm; M.S. in Nursing: Hetta Atkins, Shannon Bartell, Toni Brent, Eric Collin, Adelaide Emery, Odette Farias, Karyn Flores, Robin Francis, Roberta Olson, Christine Peterson, Kim Vogel and Roslyn Walden; M.S. with Family Nurse Practitioner Major: Lisa Baughn and Donald Gaither; and Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing: Patricia Bradshaw, Jennifer Browne, Patti Grota, Rozmin Jiwani, Claudia Oglivie, Angela Pal, Charles Reed, Wesley Richardson, Therese Rizzo and Tonya White.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled a record $259 million in fiscal year 2009. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 26,000 graduates. The $739 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.