(June 22, 2016) – The Kingston Auxiliary of HealthAlliance Hospital and the HealthAlliance Foundation gave $8,500 in scholarship awards to area students and HealthAlliance employees. The Auxiliary also presented $10,000 to the HealthAlliance Foundation for the purchase of new hospital equipment.
An additional $500 in funding from the Benedictine Health Foundation was awarded to HealthAlliance nurses pursuing advanced degrees and certifications.
The awards were all presented at the auxiliary's annual luncheon, held at the Best Western Plus Hotel in Kingston June 15.
The auxiliary gave four $1,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are children of HealthAlliance Hospital employees and a $1,000 scholarship to a SUNY Ulster graduate studying to enter the healthcare field.
The students who received scholarships are:
— Kelly Gottstine, from Kingston High School, who plans to attend the State University of New York at Binghamton with the goal of becoming a biomedical engineer. She is the daughter Pamela and Timothy Gottstine. Pamela is a registered nurse who works as a renal educator in HealthAlliance's Dialysis Center.
— Jared Kinnin, from John A. Coleman Catholic High School, who plans to attend Queen's University of Charlotte, N.C., with a major in political science. He is the son of Carol and Robb Kinnin. Robb Kinnin is a technician in the hospital's Information Services Department.
— Francis Smith III, from Kingston High, who plans to attend D'Youville College with the goal of becoming a pastor. He is the grandson of Dawn Stewart, who works as a perioperative support technician at HealthAlliance Hospital: Broadway Campus.
— Natalka Tsuvanyk, from Rondout Valley High School, who plans to attend SUNY Oneonta with the goal of teaching English as a second language in schools. She is the daughter of Marta and Yurij Tsuvanyk. Marta Tsuvanyk is a clinical dietitian at HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary's Avenue Campus and Yurij Tsuvanyk is a surgical technician at the Broadway Campus.
— Jessica Robie, a graduate of the SUNY Ulster nursing program who works full time on the Ulster County Mobile Mental Health team and part time in HealthAlliance Hospital's Emergency Department. She intends to advance her education with the goal of becoming a nurse practitioner.
The HealthAlliance Foundation gave a $500 scholarship to a graduating high school senior pursuing a career in nursing and three $1,000 awards to HealthAlliance peer-selected nurses. The $500 Elsie A. Kent Nursing Scholarship went to Emilie DeSalvo, graduating from Kingston High and planning to attend SUNY Delhi starting in the fall to pursue a nursing degree. Three $1,000 Louise Myers Excellence in Nursing Awards were presented to HealthAlliance nurses Sherie Ashdown, director of risk management and patient safety; Donna Cornell, a clinical leader at the Broadway Campus, and Donna Reynaud, a registered nurse in the Ambulatory Day Surgery and Endoscopy Department. The recipients of the annual award were selected by their HealthAlliance colleagues as nurses who were a clinical resource, exemplified professionalism and were committed to improving care quality at HealthAlliance Hospital.
Two more employee scholarships, totaling $500 and funded by the Benedictine Health Foundation, were awarded to hospital staff members advancing their nursing education or enrolled in a nursing RN program. The Dr. Neil Lieblich Memorial Nursing Scholarship was given to Dianne Metsger, a HealthAlliance intensive care unit nurse pursuing a master's degree at Sage Graduate College. The Adrian McGlothlin Memorial Nursing Scholarship was given to Terisa Woych, a nursing assistant at HealthAlliance who will start as a graduate nurse after receiving her degree this spring.
In addition to awarding scholarships, the auxiliary presented a $10,000 check to the HealthAlliance Foundation, the final installment of a $20,000 pledge for the purchase of seven vital signs monitors. The monitors measure patient body temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and breathing rate and are already in use on the Broadway Campus's medical-surgical floors and inpatient dialysis unit and at HealthAlliance's outpatient Dialysis Center on Albany Avenue.
Further, the auxiliary announced a new $16,000 pledge to the HealthAlliance Foundation for the purchase of a telehealth mobile video display cart. Telehealth uses electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical healthcare. The cart will be used in the clinical areas of emergency medicine and intensive care, as well as behavioral health. The HealthAlliance Foundation is funding a second cart, while a contribution from the Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation will support the purchase of a third cart.
About The HealthAlliance Foundation
The HealthAlliance Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting the mission, healthcare programs, services and facilities of HealthAlliance, a member of Westchester Medical Center Health Network. The Foundation continues to focus on supporting technology and equipment, high quality treatment services, and training for hospital staff at both the Broadway and Mary's Avenue campuses. For more information, visit FoundationUpdate.org.
About HealthAlliance, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network
HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley operates a 315-hospital bed healthcare system comprising HealthAlliance Hospital: Mary's Avenue Campus and HealthAlliance Hospital: Broadway Campus in Kingston, New York, and Margaretville Hospital in Margaretville, New York. It also operates Mountainside Residential Care Center, an 82-bed facility in Margaretville. As Ulster County's largest employer, HealthAlliance is committed to attracting the best-qualified medical and support staff; providing outstanding, responsive, coordinated, compassionate patient- and family-centered care; excelling in clinical outcomes and patient experiences; and ensuring patient rights, privacy and respect are honored at all times, while improving the overall health and well-being of the diverse communities it serves. For more information about how HealthAlliance is delivering the promise of medicine, visit hahv.org or follow Facebook.com/HealthAllianceHV or Twitter.com/HAllianceHudVal.