Category: Healthy Futures

Article reposted with permission from Nightingale College.

Since 2008, the Mat-Su Health Foundation has invested in a healthy community through grant programs, academic and vocational scholarships, and leadership and professional development opportunities. These programs support the Foundation’s mission to improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in the Mat-Su and its vision of a community where all persons have the opportunity for a healthy life.

“The Mat-Su Health Foundation is not a typical funder; we are a public charity, not a private foundation, whose funds come from the hospital, Mat-Su Regional Medical Center,” said Vandana Ingle, senior program officer at the Mat-Su Health Foundation. “The Foundation seats half of the governing board of the hospital, and the investor-owned company seats the other half. In this governance capacity, we ensure that the hospital is growing to meet the healthcare needs of our region by taking our share of the profits and investing them back into our community, with the goal to improve the health of the Mat-Su population.”

By investing in resources that will have great impact on their goals, the Mat-Su Health Foundation has five areas of focus: Healthy Aging, Healthy Families, Healthy Minds, Healthy Futures, and Healthy Foundations. Each of these focus areas have metrics related to system change and system improvements. The Healthy Futures focus area is working alongside community stakeholders to offer training and provide scholarship opportunities to the people who may not receive typical educational opportunities in the Mat-Su Borough.

For the past two and a half years, the Mat-Su Health Foundation has been a Nightingale College partner and has provided $175,000 to support 28 learners in their nursing school journey. With the Mat-Su Valley holding the state’s fastest-growing population, it was a strategic goal in their Healthy Futures focus area to work with educators, employers, and training providers in and out of the State of Alaska.

“In working to identify, meet the challenges, and build a pipeline of healthcare workers, working with Nightingale was a perfect match,” said Vandana. “With the way that our state is situated, we have a lot of out-of-state healthcare education providers that are also looking to build a strong workforce. As a result of that, there was an increased number of applicants attending Nightingale and we invited Nightingale to participate in the Mat-Su Workforce Development Network group of stakeholders who are working on building a stronger healthcare workforce in Alaska. This partnership helps ensure that we are engaged in creating a healthcare workforce pipeline and support our scholarship recipients.”

The work the Mat-Su Health Foundation is putting into their community is truly admirable and continues to change the lives of Alaskans every year. Looking ahead, the goal of the Foundation is to be the healthiest borough in Alaska through better care, healthier people, lower costs, and happier providers by 2030.

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The Mat-Su Health Foundation offers two types of scholarships to residents of the Mat-Su Borough interested in pursuing health and human services careers. Academic scholarships help defray the cost of higher education in health and human services degree programs. Vocational scholarships help pay for training and certificate programs in health and human services. Professional development scholarships help pay for capacity-building training programs.

Elise is attending the University of Alaska Anchorage to complete a Bachelor of Science in dietetics with plans to graduate in 2023. She plans to continue her education and pursue either a Master of Science in dietetics and nutrition or Master of Public of Health program to be able to take the Registered Dietitian Examination. Elise says that while location was a factor in choosing her current program, the instructors are so dedicated to their students and are encouraging resources that make her excited to enter this field that she feels deserves more recognition. Of her post-grad plans, Elise says, “I have many ideas, but I hope to start my career in community nutrition where people see the most disparities and need the most help as access to nutrition can be a key preventative measure towards good health. I have plans to pursue other educational opportunities to be Board Certified in Obesity and Weight Management and Pediatric Nutrition and I’m researching new certifications in Culinary Medicine.”

Her best tip for others pursuing their educations? Elise says, “I’ve learned as an older student not to be a perfectionist and to take breaks from studying to enjoy family time or just go outside for a while to recharge. You can’t absorb anything on a low battery.” Outside of school, Elise enjoys being outside during our incredible Alaskan summers and spends time hiking, kayaking and sitting around a campfire enjoying good company. During the winter, she loves cross country skiing.

Of her MSHF scholarship, Elise says, “Without the MSHF, I can’t say it would have been fully possible to continue my educational goals without the burden of student loans. It’s a fantastic feeling to know that this organization believes that I can do something with my education, and I plan to put it right back into the community.”

Whitney is in the BSN program at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She says, “I knew I wanted to do nursing, but I thought I’d be selling myself short if I didn’t go for the full four years. I knew I had the personality traits that lined up with being a BSN, potentially in a managing position in the future.” After graduating, Whitney wants to work in an emergency room or med-surg in the Mat-Su to get emergency medical care experience, but her ultimate goal is to work at a birthing center. She says, “I would love to be a part of natural child birthing.”

When asked about her best tip to other students, Whitney said, “If you are in school, always be on! During the semester, never turn off school. Work at schoolwork everyday little by little. You can take a break when the semester is over. If you take a break during the semester, you fall behind. Don’t quit!” Outside of school, Whitney enjoys crafting, reading, meditating and spending time outside with her son.

Of her MSHF scholarship, Whitney says, “As students, we have so many things to worry about in our personal lives, aside from our hectic school lives. Money, time, family and health are usually at the top of my list. The MSHF scholarship has taken nearly all of the burden of school off my shoulders. With one less thing to worry about, I focus on my schoolwork!”

Click here to learn more about Mat-Su Health Foundation scholarship programs.

Tiffany is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Alaska Anchorage. She says, “I want to have the opportunity of positivily impacting people’s lives and being able to provide resources to allow them to work through tough family illnesses and tragic accidents. More importantly, I thoroughly enjoy working with people of all backgrounds and cultures.” After graduating, Tiffany wants to work as an RN and continue her education to become a CRNA or flight nurse, and give back to Alaskans by serving rural villages or areas where nursing is in high demand.

Her best study tip? “I’ve found printing out powerpoint slides with images to be incredibly helpful when trying to memorize and retain terminology, and creating Quizlets before taking exams that consist of multiple chapters to be efficient when studying.” Outside of school, Tiffany enjoys international travel, going to the gym, hiking with her dog, Lily, and spending time with her friends and family.

Of her MSHF scholarship, Tiffany says, “In the short time I’ve been a MSHF scholarship recipient, this scholarship has allowed me to take on a larger course load, as I am not solely stressed about how I am going to financially work towards my degree. More courses means I am able to become an RN in lesser time and give back to the people of Alaska.”

Click here to learn more about Mat-Su Health Foundation scholarship programs.

Shannon is studying nursing at Carroll College in Helena, Montana. She always knew she wanted to go into the medical field and care for those who are sick or injured and says, “I was drawn to nursing because I want to be at the patients’ bedsides and be a source of compassion and strength for them and their families as they navigate uncertain or scary diagnoses.” After completing her program, Shannon plans to work as an ICU or ER nurse so she can become a flight nurse in the future. She would also like to work with pediatric patients in an oncology unit at some point.

“The best study tip I’ve picked up is to make a list of each step in a big project so that even if you aren’t able to complete the whole project at once, you can still cross something off your list,” Shannon says. Outside of school, she is very active in church and also enjoys taking walks into downtown Helena with friends, rock climbing, hiking, kayaking and downhill skiing in the winter.

Of her MSHF scholarship, Shannon says, “The Matsu Health Foundation scholarship has significantly helped ease the financial burden so that I can further my education. It gives me so much confidence to know my community believes in me and is willing to invest in my education.”

Click here to learn more about Mat-Su Health Foundation scholarship programs.