To strengthen and diversify the health care workforce for years to come, ChristianaCare will provide $500,000 in scholarships to 10 students in Delaware who plan to pursue degrees in health care. Administered through the HBCU Week Foundation, each scholarship will provide $12,500 per year in financial support over four years and will include a paid internship at ChristianaCare.
“At ChristianaCare, we recognize that we are best able to deliver high-quality, equitable, safe care to everyone when our workforce reflects the rich diversity of the communities we serve,” said ChristianaCare President and CEO Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH. “We are proud to partner with the HBCU Week Foundation in this exciting initiative that will create new opportunities for young people in our community to pursue careers in health care – and potentially join us as expert, caring partners in the health of our neighbors.”
“This is a tremendous opportunity to invest in the youth in our community as the health care leaders of tomorrow,” said Bettina Tweardy Riveros, J.D., chief health equity officer and senior vice president of Government Affairs and Community Engagement at ChristianaCare. “These scholarships will strengthen our professional pipeline and ensure that our caregivers reflect the communities we serve. We look forward to working with the HBCU Week Foundation in supporting the scholarship award recipients.”
Prospective students can learn how to apply for the scholarship online at https://www.hbcuweek.org/christianacare-scholarship/.
Applicants must:
- Be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States.
- Complete or have completed high school with a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (unweighted) and be entering their freshman year of college.
- Attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) for the entirety of their college education.
- Demonstrate financial need.
- Be a Delaware resident.
The deadline for application is March 1, 2022.
Winners will be announced during spring 2022. Students can choose from nearly two dozen majors that qualify for the scholarship, including biology, chemistry, nursing and health information technology.
“This partnership is particularly special for me, as it prepares students for future careers and addresses the deficit of diversity in the medical field,” said Ashley Christopher, Esq., founder and chief executive officer of HBCU Week Foundation, and an alumna of both Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. “Through this partnership, we are putting forth tangible efforts to achieve true diversity in medicine and I couldn’t be prouder of this commitment from ChristianaCare.”
The scholarships represent an innovative approach by ChristianaCare to improve health equity, community health and inclusivity and diversity. In the past two years, ChristianaCare has been engaged in a wide variety of efforts that aim to advance inclusion and diversity within the organization and improve health equity in the community. In 2020, ChristianaCare made a public commitment to being an anti-racism organization. Under Dr. Nevin’s leadership, ChristianaCare is one of the first organizations in Delaware to sign the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which is a commitment to take specific actions to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace.
ChristianaCare also has launched LeadershipDNA, a leadership development program that fosters professional and career development for underrepresented, diverse populations within the organization.
In addition, ChristianaCare has developed a vibrant employee resource groups program that currently supports 10 employee resource groups, which connect caregivers who have a common interest or bond with one another. Formed by employees across all demographics – such as disability, gender, race, military status, national origin, sexual orientation, etc. – these voluntary grassroots groups work to improve inclusion and diversity at ChristianaCare. More than 1,000 caregivers at ChristianaCare participate in employee resource groups.
For its efforts, ChristianaCare has been ranked one of the Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes magazine, as well as the No. 1 employer for diversity and inclusion in Delaware and the No. 14 health system nationwide by Forbes.
