Above / The Edward Foundation recently awarded $68,000 in nursing scholarships to 23 Edward Hospital employees, including two $10,000 Peter Veit Nursing Scholarships, a $2,000 Agnes A. Book Memorial Nursing Scholarship and 20 $2,000 scholarships from the Foundation.
The Edward Foundation has awarded $68,000 in nursing scholarships to 23 Edward Hospital employees who are pursuing a degree or advanced degree in nursing. The employees were recognized at a luncheon hosted by Meghan Moreno, Executive Director, Edward Foundation; Scott Berger, MD, Edward Foundation Board Chairman and Patti Ludwig-Beymer, PhD, RN, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Edward Hospital.
Two Peter Veit Scholarships
The Foundation awarded two $10,000 Peter Veit Scholarships to Nilsa Ortiz, a registered nurse (RN) in Edward’s MRI department and Kimberly Ponio, RN, Labor and Delivery. Both are earning their baccalaureate degrees in nursing. Veit created the scholarship fund in his name with a $120,000 gift to the Foundation following the care he received from the Edward nursing staff. Veit passed away at his Naperville home in 2014 at age 86 from complications due to pancreatic cancer.
Agnes A. Book Memorial Nursing Scholarship
Christine McBride, RN, Cardiac Telemetry, 7th floor (CTU 7), received the $2,000 Agnes A. Book Memorial Nursing Scholarship, which comes from a fund established by the Book family in memory of their mother, Agnes, who was a nurse at Edward for more than 20 years.
20 Nursing Scholarships
The Foundation awarded $2,000 nursing scholarships to 19 nurses and one patient care tech: Christina Aggio, RN, NICU; Denise Arp, RN, Nursing Staff Development; Jane Avery, RN, Ortho-Spine; Dawn Bixler, RN, Surgical Care Unit; Heather Collins, RN, Case Management; Tamara Diaz, RN, CTU 7; Janie Dinh, RN, Heart Failure program; Tracy Fabsits, RN, Central Resource Team; Elizabeth Gasiorek, patient care technician, CTU 7; Mary Giammarino, RN, Edward Medical Group; Robyn Householder, RN, Surgical Care Unit; Yichang Kao, RN, Mother-Baby; Jennifer Malnati, RN, Labor and Delivery; Heather Marvin, RN, CTU 8; Heather McLeland, RN, Catheterization Lab; Alexis Piwowar, RN, Central Resource Team; Kaitlyn Rosales, RN, Wound Care; Jessica Sheets, RN, Pain Management; Kristen Wojtun, RN, Emergency Department and Gabrielle Zaura, RN, Inpatient Adult/Child, Linden Oaks Behavioral Health.
Above / Edward is a major healthcare provider located at 801 S. Washington in Naperville, Illinois. (PN File Photo)
Edward Hospital, known as “Edward”
Edward, which employs 1,200 nurses, was re-designated as a Magnet hospital for nursing excellence by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2014 after receiving its original designation in 2005 and first re-designation in 2010. The second re-designation means Edward is one of only six hospitals in Illinois to have achieved Magnet status three times or more. Edward is one of only three hospitals in DuPage County and the only one serving Will County to have earned the prestigious recognition. Only seven percent of the nation’s 6,000 hospitals are recognized as Magnet facilities by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Edward Foundation
The Edward Foundation was established in 1990 and has raised more than $40 million in its mission to support Edward Hospital’s community healthcare initiatives, including free services and health and wellness programs; centers of excellence like Edward Heart Hospital and Edward Cancer Center; and programs that make Edward unique, like the Ronald McDonald Family Room.
To make a donation to or for more information about the Foundation, call (630) 527-3954 or visit www.EdwardFoundation.org.
Top photo and news submitted by Keith Hartenberger, Public Information Officer, for Edward-Elmhurst Healthcare
