SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. ― The Board of Directors at Regional West Foundation is pleased to announce that $38,500 in scholarships have been awarded to 16 students enrolled at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) School of Nursing and Western Nebraska Community College (WNCC).

Each year, Regional West Foundation grants health education scholarships to students from Regional West’s service area. Following graduation, many of the students pursue employment in the communities Regional West serves. Scholarship awards are split between the 2023 fall and 2024 spring semesters.

Sarah Salomon Swantek and Ashley Maschmeier, both of Gering, each received a $5,000 Regional West Foundation scholarship.

Paula Tactacan, from Scottsbluff, received a $5,000 Gerke scholarship. Kaitlyn Jensen, from Scottsbluff, and Michele Hesse, of Gering, were each awarded $2,500 Gerke scholarships.

Kaitlyn Johnson, from Alliance, received two $1,000 Drawbaugh scholarships, as well as a $1,000 Harvey scholarship. Chukwuka Morah, of Scottsbluff, was awarded two $1,000 A. Swanson scholarships. Jaelynn Hemphill, from Scottsbluff, and Piper deBeauclair, from Gering, each received a $1,000 H. Swanson scholarship.

Madeline Davis, of Lincoln, and Regan Lambert, of Alliance, were each awarded a $1,000 Lovercheck scholarship. Kathryn Blankenship, from Harrisburg, received a $1,000 M. Streeks Brown Scholarship, and Hannah Walker, from Mitchell, received three $1,000 Ostenberg scholarships.

Danielle Martinez, of Scottsbluff, and Brooklyn Morrill, from Mitchell, each received a $1,500 scholarship established by James Massey, M.D., FACS.

The Regional West Foundation was established in 1972 to support the health system’s mission of excellence in healthcare. Today, the Foundation's success is a continuation of a long and proud tradition of community support for superior healthcare services in the communities it serves.

Regional West Health Services in Scottsbluff, Neb., is the parent company of Regional West Medical Center, a 188-bed regional referral center and the only Level II Trauma Center in Nebraska west of Kearney. As the region’s only tertiary referral medical center, Regional West offers care that spans more than 32 medical specialties provided by over 28 physician clinics. Regional West provides comprehensive and innovative healthcare services for the people of western Nebraska and the neighboring states of Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming.