On June 21, North Hawaii Community Hospital (NHCH) awarded scholarships to five Big Island students. Scholarships were presented by Drs. Gary Goldberg, an emergency physician; W. Douglas Hiller, orthopedic surgeon and chief of staff; and John Dawson, a primary care physician.
June Mohr, a resident of Kailua-Kona, received the Peggy Dineen-Orsini Scholarship of $2,000. Mohr is attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is enrolled in pre-nursing studies, with an emphasis on human development and family resources.
“Attending college at UH-Manoa gives me a sense of purpose, great satisfaction and much motivation to meet my personal goal of succeeding in my studies and to excel in my chosen career of nursing here in my home state of Hawaii,” said Mohr. Private donors, along with the hospital’s medical staff, fund this scholarship in memory of Peggy Dineen-Orsini, who was a registered nurse at NHCH for eight years, 1996 to 2004.
The second scholarship, funded by the NHCH medical staff, was awarded to Allen Gail Yvette Nitura and Malia Silva, offering each individual a $1,000 scholarship. Nitura, a 2013 graduate of Honokaa High School, will attend Hawaii Pacific University to major in pre-nursing, while Silva, a resident of Kailua Kona, is currently attending Hawaii Community College as a pre-nursing major.
The NHCH medical staff annual scholarships are funded through the dues each physician pays to be a member of the medical staff at NHCH.
The third scholarship is funded by Hawaii Emergency Physicians Associated Inc. (HEPA), the independent physician-owned group of board-certified physicians who provide staffing in NHCH’s Emergency Department.
The two $1,000 HEPA scholarships were awarded to North Hawaii high school students: Michelle Ruiz Sahagun of Kapaau, who will attend the University of Hawaii at Hilo to study elementary education, and Mindy Ho‘olilani Marie Silva of Honokaa, who will study nursing at Hawaii Community College.
Scholarship recipient Sahagun said, “by advancing my education at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, I strongly believe that I will benefit Hawaii’s future students. I believe this scholarship will help make it possible for me to achieve my goals.” For this scholarship, students are asked to write a personal letter describing their future plans and goals and to explain why their financial need is compelling.
All applications were reviewed by the scholarship committees of each sponsoring organization; decisions were based on the criteria and requirements outlined in the scholarship application, which can be found online at www.NHCH.com.
North Hawaii Community Hospital is a rural 33-bed acute care hospital located in Waimea. Nonprofit, and locally governed, the hospital opened in May 1996 and cares for Hawaii Island residents and visitors. NHCH offers an extensive set of hospital services that are centered on patient needs, creating a healing experience for the whole person — mind, body and spirit.
