Atlantic General Hospital/Health System Now Accepting Applications for James G. and Nancy W. Barrett Nursing Scholarship Program

Atlantic General Hospital announced this week that applications for the James G. and Nancy W. Barrett Nursing Scholarship Program are available beginning April 4. The scholarship program provides selected nursing students with full payment of tuition and books, health care benefits and flexible work schedules.

Upon completion of their degree program and after passing the appropriate state licensure exams, scholarship recipients are required to work full-time at Atlantic General Hospital/Health System for one year for each year in the scholarship program.

The scholarship program is named in honor of James G. and Nancy W. Barrett in recognition of the significant contributions the Barrett family has made to the hospital. James G. Barrett passed away in 2004 while serving as Chairman of the Atlantic General Hospital Board of Directors.

The scholarship program was created in 2000 to address workforce shortages within the healthcare industry. In 2007, the Nursing Scholarship Program graduated two students and is anticipating the May 2008 graduation of an additional four nurses.

While participating in the program, scholarship students are required to work twelve hours per week at Atlantic General Hospital/Health System and maintain full-time status in their academic program.

Nursing Scholarships are available to students enrolled in local community colleges, including Wor-Wic Community College and Delaware Technical Community College, and to Salisbury University juniors and seniors pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Students enrolled in Salisbury University’s “Fast Track” Bachelor of Science in Nursing program are also eligible for the scholarship.

Rachael Warren, a current scholarship student, is scheduled to graduate in May 2009. “The Atlantic General Hospital scholarship program has been a true blessing for me,” Warren said. “It not only has eased the financial burden of nursing school, but has allowed me to maximize my educational experience. Each week as I learn theory in school, I am able to experience the tangible portions while I am working at Atlantic General Hospital.”

The program is supported by many local individuals, businesses, and organizations, including Nancy W. Barrett, the Ocean City Lions Club, the Worcester County Department of Economic Development Career Internship Program, the Retired Nurses of Ocean Pines, the Atlantic General Hospital Junior Auxiliary Group, the Atlantic General Hospital Medical Staff, and Dr. Roy Cragway, who initiates and organizes the Annual Pool Tournament Shootout.

“The Ocean City Lions Club has been an enthusiastic supporter of the nursing scholarship program at Atlantic General Hospital for several years,” said Bill Jones, chairman of the Ocean City Lions Club Scholarship Committee. “The Lions Club recognizes the importance of the program in recruiting and retaining nurses for the benefit of Ocean City and the surrounding areas in Worcester County.”

For more information or to request an application, please e-mail Alice Kalinowski at akalinowski@atlanticgeneral.org, indicating “Scholarship Application” in the subject line. Please include your name, mailing address, telephone. Applications can also be requested by calling (410) 641-9935. Completed applications must be returned to Atlantic General Hospital by May 9, 2008.