Help offered Monday to apply for Health Foundation scholarships

WASILLA - A how-to training session for people who need assistance to apply for this year's Mat-Su Health Foundation scholarships for Mat-Su residents pursuing health-related careers is from 5 to 7 p.m., Feb. 6 at the AT&T Sports Center in Palmer. RSVP for the training session by email at v.reese@msrmc.com.

The deadline to apply this year is 4 p.m., March 19. People may apply for the scholarships online at matsuhealthfoundation.org.

The scholarships are intended to help defray the cost of higher education and encourage Mat-Su residents to complete a degree or certificate program that emphasizes health and/or wellness. Funds will be awarded based upon the merits of applicants meeting MSHF eligibility criteria, which includes a demonstrated interest in the health care field, clarity of health care career goals and the value of those goals in building a healthier community.

The MSHF board has recently broadened these criteria to allow even half-time students to apply and also allow scholarship funds to be used for accredited medical training programs outside the traditional college setting.

In 2011, MSHF awarded more than $99,000 in scholarships to high school seniors, undergraduates and graduate students with Mat-Su residency pursuing health-related majors. Almost half of these students attended University of Alaska or Mat-Su College. MSHF has established another robust budget for scholarships in 2012 and hopes to double the number of applicants.

MSHF invests in the education of Mat-Su residents to help build the health care workforce of the future and an engaged citizenship with a higher capacity to address the health-related challenges impacting Mat-Su and Alaska. MSHF also acknowledges current research on the social determinants of health, which demonstrates that people who obtain some college education or vocational training beyond high school experience better health, on average, than do those with only a high school diploma.

If MSHF can increase the number of Mat-Su residents with "some college" in their background, the borough death rate will even decrease. Evidence of this can be found at countyhealthrankings.org established by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The health foundation is the official business name of Valley Hospital Association Inc., which shares ownership in Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. In this capacity, MSHF board members and representatives actively participate in the governance of Mat-Su's community hospital and protect the community's interest in this important health care asset through board oversight. MSHF invests its share of Mat-Su Regional's profits into charitable works that improve the health and wellness of Alaskans living in Mat-Su.