(BRICK, NJ) – The Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund advisory committee is pleased to announce that they have awarded nursing scholarships totaling $1,500 to three nurses at Ocean Medical Center.
Susan McKenna (Tuckerton), Kathleen Scalzo (Howell) and Rachel Schliep (Point Pleasant Beach) were presented three individual $500 scholarships during an award ceremony held Thursday afternoon, September 19 on the Ocean Medical Center main campus in Brick.
The 2019 ceremony marks nine consecutive years that scholarships have been awarded to Ocean Medical Center team members from the scholarship fund.
The three 2019 scholarship recipients were selected by the Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund Scholarship Advisory Committee after the committee members reviewed all scholarship applications and supporting documents from every candidate who applied.
Susan McKenna has been employed with the Hackensack Meridian Health System for twenty-two years. She began her career at Ocean Medical Center in 1997 as a unit secretary in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit before becoming a Patient Care Technician and then moving in to the Emergency Room. McKenna holds BLS, ACLS and PALS certifications, has achieved Fellow status on the CARE level and is Telemetry certified. Susan is pursuing her BSN degree at Chamberlain University School of Nursing with an expected completion date in January 2020.
Kathleen Scalzo is pursuing her BSN in Nursing at Georgian Court University with an anticipated completion date in May 2020. Scalzo is a long-term valued CCU team member at Ocean Medical Center who is also PACU certified. Kathleen is also the Co-Chairperson of the Shared Governance Committee and a member of the Critical Care Education & Policy Committee and Community Education Committee. She achieved Scholar status on the CARE level. Her ultimate goal is to obtain her MSN degree and help teach the novice nurses of our community.
Rachel Schliep is a current Emergency Room team member at Ocean Medical center and has been employed by the Hackensack Meridian Health System for several years. She is also a certified EMT and volunteers for the Point Pleasant Beach Frist Aid and Emergency Squad and has achieved Fellow status on the CARE level. Rachel obtained her AAS in Nursing from Brookdale Community College in 2017 and is pursuing her BSN degree at Chamberlain University School of Nursing with an expected completion date in December 2020.
“On behalf of the entire scholarship committee, I want to congratulate Susan, Kathleen and Rachel. They are three exceptional Ocean Medical Center team members who truly have a sincere desire and compassion for the Nursing profession and Nursing education just like Barbara did. All of them have an exceptional drive to gain as much knowledge as they can to help their staff, fellow team members and patients and have placed a priority on their own personal Nursing education to help serve all of us better. We wish all of them the best of success in their nursing careers” mentioned Walt Konopka, Chairperson of the Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund.
In addition to the scholarship recipients, their family members and friends, Ocean Medical Center physicians, nurses and administrative staff, other guests of note in attendance at the award presentation included Marie Foley-Danecker, Chief Nursing Officer; Dr. Teri Wurmser, Executive Director of the Ann May Center for Nursing and Matthew Lang, Executive Director of the Ocean Medical Center Foundation.
During its nine-year history (2011-2019), The Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund has awarded $18,500 in total to 33 nurses and nursing students of Ocean Medical Center.
The 2019 scholarship application due date was July 19th.
ABOUT THE BARBARA FORFAR NURSING SCHOLARSHIP FUND:
The Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund was established on January 15, 2011 and is part of the Ocean Medical Center Foundation family of funds.
The fund provides monetary assistance to qualified nurses and nursing students of Ocean Medical Center who desire to continue their formal education in nursing profession in the form of scholarships and awards one (or more) nursing scholarship during September of each year to eligible applicants.
The Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund was established to honor the memory of long-time Point Pleasant resident Barbara Forfar or “Foof” as she was called by her fellow nurses and other colleagues in the operating room, and her forty-four years of dedication to the nursing profession with all but three years of her service associated with the Ocean Medical Center or its predecessor hospitals.
To qualify for the scholarship, the applicant must be an employee or nursing student at Ocean Medical Center and must be enrolled in a RN program, an upper division program (RN to BSN) or advanced degree program (MSN, PhD) in nursing.
All Ocean Medical Center nurses and nursing students from all OMC practice areas were eligible to apply. The scholarship must be used to supplement tuition, fees, lab costs, books or educational supply expenses.
For more information about The Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund, including how to make a donation to the fund, log on to the official website at www.forfarscholarship.org or connect with The Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund on Facebook or Twitter.
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Photo Credit: The Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship Fund
Photo Details: From Left to Right: Debbie Konopka (Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship), JoAnna Fabiano (Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship), Walt Konopka (Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship), Marie Foley-Danecker (Chief Nursing Officer of Ocean Medical Center), Rachel Schliep (Recipient), Kathleen Scalzo (Recipient), Susan McKenna (Recipient) Scott Forfar (Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship), Jackie Fabiano (Barbara Forfar Nursing Scholarship).