Longs Peak Hospital Foundation is pleased to offer academic scholarships to UCHealth employees working at Longs Peak Hospital, Longmont Clinic or Carbon Valley Medical Center.

“Part of our dream as we planned and built the hospital was to support our staff right out of the gate, yet we were uncertain if anyone would step up to make this possible,” says Dan Robinson, who was president of the hospital at the time. “Our employee donors and outside supporters have been fabulous.”

Last June, less than a year into its existence, the foundation awarded $21,755 in scholarships to 14 recipients—thanks to our generous donors.

Haselden Construction seeded the employee education fund with a $10,000 Founders Society gift. Vice President Joe Hanlin says Haselden supports scholarships because the company believes that having employees from a wide variety of fields is imperative to make a hospital run effectively.

Indeed a variety of employees were supported with scholarships in our first year, including employees from emergency management, medical translation, pharmacy, speech therapy, neurotherapy, lymphedema treatment and medical coding.

Abby Ohlin received a Longs Peak Hospital Foundation scholarship that will help her obtain her nursing degree.One of our 2018 scholarship recipients, Abby Ohlin, shares the following words of thanks with donors. “I plan to use the scholarship to attend Front Range Community College to begin my journey of becoming a nurse in the Birth Center. My hope is to acquire my nursing degree and later Bachelor of Science in Nursing. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to become a nurse, so receiving this scholarship from Longs Peak Hospital Foundation means so much to me.” Visit Longs Peak Hospital Foundation’s Facebook page to see a video of Abby sharing her gratitude for the scholarship: bit.ly/Abbys-ambition.

Another 2018 scholarship recipient, Maria Mazzaferro, has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and more than 15 years of nursing experience. Maria received a scholarship to attend several sessions on Health Touch and became certified in this method. A patient recently wrote Maria a note of thanks regarding this therapy: “Maria, thank you so much for how hard you worked the day I broke my leg. When I hit a train and was in crisis, you tried and succeeded with touchless therapy. I was very grateful.”

Whether an employee is at the beginning of her journey into the medical field, like Abby, or is an expert in the field, like Maria, Longs Peak Hospital Foundation is pleased to help medical professionals further their education so patients have the best care possible.

Because of the increasing complexity of health care, the Institute of Medicine recommends that all hospitals strive to have 80 percent or more of their nursing staff possess a minimum of a BSN by 2020. Assisting longtime nurses in earning their BSN is therefore a priority for UCHealth, and the foundation is pleased to be able to offer scholarships to help. Scholarships are available to support permanent and relief employees’ academic pursuits toward certification, licensure, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate, or continuing education opportunities.

The scholarship program helps our high-caliber workforce achieve their professional goals and ultimately provide an exceptional care experience for our patients. Donor generosity makes these scholarships possible. If you are interested in establishing or contributing to a scholarship, contact the foundation today.