FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:Malcolm Holmes
Phone: (804) 523-5230
E-Mail: mholmes@reynolds.edu

First Statewide Nursing Scholarship Awarded by Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association and the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education

RICHMOND, VA (January 10, 2007) – Angela D. Starnes, of Richmond, is the first recipient of the VHHA Nursing Scholarship sponsored by the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association and the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education. Ms. Starnes, a nursing student at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (JRSCC), will receive $5,000 to complete here associate’s degree in nursing in a Registered Nursing (RN) program.

A single mother who works as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at the VCU Medical Center’s mother-infant unit, Ms. Starnes has attended JSRCC since fall 2004. She will be able to use the two-year scholarship for tuition, fees, books and supplies. Her goal is to pursue a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in nursing and to become a nurse anesthetist. Ms. Starnes has maintained a 4.0 grade point average while at JRSCC, and also has received VCU’s LPN Excellence in Practice award for three years.

Laurens Sartoris, president of VHHA, says the scholarship was created to help students like Ms. Starnes, who need financial assistance to complete their degree program. “Virginia’s hospitals and health systems are committed to working with the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education to help train a dedicated and qualified nursing workforce,” he said. “Ms. Starnes credentials are exemplary and she is a credit to the nursing profession.”

To qualify, students must be enrolled in a Virginia community college, admitted to a nursing program, and must have completed prerequisite courses with at least a 3.0 grade point average. The scholarship will be awarded every two years.

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of hospitals and health delivery systems that develops and advocates health care policy for the Commonwealth. Its vision is to achieve excellence in both health care and health.

The Virginia Foundation for Community College Education helps turn imagination into reality for the thousands of Virginians who dream of going to college. Working hand in hand with Virginia’s 23 community colleges, the system wide Foundation seeks to guarantee financial assistance to all those who want a college education. .