Press Releases: Southern California
June 15, 2004
Local nursing students receive $150,500 in scholarships
Kaiser Permanente to dedicate over $4 million to nursing education in 2004
PASADENA, Calif. – Kaiser Permanente has awarded 85 nursing students from more than 40 Southern California college campuses a total of $150,500 in scholarship funds to help meet expenses and complete their education. The announcement was made at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California headquarters in Pasadena today before a gathering of recipients' family and friends. Kaiser Permanente's commitment to building California's future nursing workforce is expected to exceed $4 million by year's end. This sponsorship includes Kaiser Permanente's Nursing Pathways and Direct Community Benefit Investment (DCBI) in career ladder programs, grants to colleges, forgivable loans, and the Deloras Jones RN Scholarship Program, which was established in 1989.
In the last fifteen years, Kaiser Permanente has provided more than 2,400 nursing scholarships totaling over $3.1 million. This year, Kaiser Permanente received 459 applications and granted $310,000 in nursing scholarships to 168 recipients throughout California.
Need-based scholarships of $2,000 or $2,500 were granted to 47 students in the categories of Nursing as a Second Career, Underrepresented Groups in Nursing, Academic Excellence (3.9+ GPA), and Graduate Studies. In addition, 36 students received the $1,000 "Affiliate" scholarship reserved for one student at each nursing program in California that has a clinical affiliation with Kaiser Permanente.
Two $5,000 merit-based scholarships were given in Deloras Jones' honor to recognize and reward Kaiser Permanente employees who are pursuing a bachelor of science in nursing, demonstrate a commitment to leadership, education and excellence in nursing practice, and who "embody Deloras' spirit and dedication in their daily lives."
Deloras Jones retired as Kaiser Permanente's Director of Divisional Nursing Services for California in 2000, after 34-years, to continue a career dedicated to professional nursing and leadership.
For information on Kaiser Permanente's scholarships and forgivable loans, students can contact their school's nursing or financial aid office at the beginning of the year, visit the Kaiser Permanente Student Financial Aid Program's website at: http://financialaid.kp.org, or call the Program's toll-free number at (866) 232-2934.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region includes more than 49,900 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,000 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at kaiserpermanente.org.
