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(ST. JOSEPH) - Through the Allied Health Careers Scholarship program, the Corewell Health Foundation Southwest Michigan (formerly known as Spectrum Health Lakeland Foundation) granted a total of $58,500 in the form of 40 scholarships to its team members, volunteers, interns and local students aiming to pursue a career in the health care sector.

In addition to these scholarships, the Foundation provided a total of $70,500 in departmental grants to aid team members in their ongoing educational endeavors. Over the last 31 years, Corewell Health Foundation Southwest Michigan has disbursed more than $2 million in grants and scholarships to team members, departments, volunteers, interns and students. This remarkable feat has been made possible largely due to the generous endowments from the local community for the purpose of investing in health care education and training.

“This year's virtual ceremony enabled us to honor team members who are furthering their education, which will inevitably lead to improved patient care,” said Soroya Pierre-VanArtsen, president, Corewell Health Foundation Southwest Michigan. “It also gave us a platform to thank our generous donors who established the endowments to fund these scholarships.”

During the scholarship ceremony, Loren B. Hamel, MD, president, Corewell Health South, and Soroya Pierre-VanArtsen jointly presented the Leo Soorus Leadership Awards to Rebecca Dill, lead quality improvement specialist, and Chad Simcox, lead recruiter, physician & advanced practice provider attraction. Additionally, Dan Hopp was proud to confer the newly-introduced Dan Hopp Value Excellence Award to Camille Stacey, manager, Niles Hospital Emergency Department.

Established with a donation of at least $25,000, endowment scholarships are regularly named after a person or family and are allocated yearly to students focused on furthering their studies in the field of allied health. Furthermore, the scholarships and grants come from money earmarked for special studies, with the quantity of the donations and the decision to give being made by the donor. If you are interested in forming an endowed scholarship or grant, please contact the Foundation office at 269.927.5143.

This year, the following Corewell Health South team members, volunteers, interns and area students (categorized by hometowns) received scholarships or awards:

Department grants were also awarded to:

Cardiology/EKG, Niles, Cardiothoracic Surgery Practice HB, St. Joseph, Cardiovascular Lab,  St. Joseph, Clinical Care Management, Hospice, Clinical Education and Simulation Training, Diabetes Education, Emergency Department Trauma Center, St. Joseph, Enterprise Shared Experience, Foundation, Benton Harbor, Home Care, Niles, Intensive Care Unit, St. Joseph, Inpatient Rehab, St. Joseph, Inpatient Rehab Therapies, Watervliet, Lory’s Place, Hospice, Obstetrics, St. Joseph & Niles, Outpatient Rehabilitation, St. Joseph, Outpatient Rehabilitation, Longmeadow, Outpatient Rehabilitation, Niles,  Outpatient Rehabilitation, Watervliet, Pre-Authorizations, Primary Care Practice, Administration, Primary Care Practice, BellaNova Women’s Health,  Primary Care Practice, Coloma, Radiation Oncology, St. Joseph, Radiology, Watervliet, Respiratory Therapy, St. Joseph, Sterile Processing, St. Joseph, Volunteer Services, St. Joseph, Wellness Center, Wound Care, St. Joseph and Wound Care & Hyperbaric, Niles.

Top left: Soroya Pierre-VanArtsen, president, Corewell Health Foundation Southwest Michigan, and Chad Simcox, lead recruiter, physician & advanced practice provider attraction, winner of the Leo Soorus Leadership Award

Bottom left: Dan Hopp, past chair, Corewell Health South Board of Directors, and Camille Stacey, manager, Niles Hospital Emergency Department, winner of the Dan Hopp Value Excellence Award

Right: Rebecca Dill, lead quality improvement specialist, winner of the Leo Soorus Leadership Award, and Natalie Baggio, RN, BSN, senior vice president, clinical operations and chief nursing executive