Several Cape Fear Valley Health staff were recently awarded scholarships. The scholarships were presented May 12, as part of Nursing Week.

Four staff members received Nursing Education Scholarships: John Carragher, EMT-P; Trenika Crumpler, NA II, Bladen Outpatient Surgery; Kelley Grant, BSN, RN, Health Pavilion North Express Care; and Nancy Tyndall, MSN, RN, Bladen Clinical Nurse Educator. The $1,500 Nursing Education Scholarships are given to employees who are pursuing a nursing education at any level. The Nursing Education Scholarships come from an endowed fund held by Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation.

Two registered nurses from Cape Fear Valley Medical Center’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Roxanne Espinosa Cerga, BSN, RN III; and Liza Howle, BSN, RNC-NIC, were this year’s recipients of the Joan Lucas Memorial Scholarship. Both are pursuing their master’s degree in Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. Cerga has been accepted in a master’s program at the University of Alabama and Howle has been accepted in a master’s program at East Carolina University. The Joan Lucas Memorial Scholarship is named in honor of a longtime Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in the Cape Fear Valley Medical Center NICU. Through the Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation, it provides individual awards of $1,500 to NICU nurses pursing a degree as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.

Two staff members also received $1,000 scholarships from the Victoria Baskett Patient Safety Foundation. These scholarships were presented by Victoria Baskett and given to Respiratory Therapy Education Coordinator Michael Whitney and Mikayla Olsen EMT-P. Whitney is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Respiratory Therapy and Olsen is pursuing a degree in Nursing.

A local high school student, Caroline Averitte, was also recently awarded scholarships through Cape Fear Valley Health Foundation. Averitte received a $1,000 Caduceus Scholarship and a $500 Partners for Life Scholarship. After graduating from Cape Fear High School this year, she will be attending Fayetteville Technical Community College for an Associate Degree in Nursing.