MRHC Foundation, Auxiliary fund scholarships, hospital equipment

The McAlester Regional Health Center Foundation and Auxiliary have awarded nearly $58,000 in equipment grants and $4,500 in nursing scholarships to help promote MRHC and its efforts to improve health for Southeast Oklahomans. Foundation Director Ryan Gathard said $57,798.52 in equipment requests from MRHC was approved early this month. Auxiliary Manager Jeanne Leflore said the funds will be used for everything from a tympanic thermometer for the MRHC Infusion Department to a portable device to measure bone density for the Women’s Imaging Center. In all, equipment grants were approved for 17 separate departments of the hospital. The hospital equipment grants are funded annually by donations from the MRHC Foundation and Auxiliary. Hospital volunteers help the Auxiliary raise money through fundraisers and gift shop sales at the MRHC Unique Boutique.

Foundation donors include hospital employees and those supporting MRHC through memorials and other tax-deductible charitable contributions. Also awarded recently by the Foundation was a scholarship for nursing students at Kiamichi Technology Center. The Dianna L. Priddle Scholarship valued at $4,464 was awarded to 16 students who graduated the KTC Practical Nursing Program on June 9. The scholarship was funded by Kevin Priddle in memory of his late wife, Dianna, through the MRHC Foundation.

Priddle is also president of the MRHC Foundation Board of Directors. “These grants and scholarships are investments in our community and its future health,” said Gathard, Foundation director. “Our mission to support MRHC and the hospital’s dedication to health and wellness is most evident when we can help a nurse achieve her dream, or buy a piece of equipment to help save a life.  “We thank Mr. Priddle, Auxiliary Manager Jeanne Leflore, and our many donors and volunteers who have made these grants and scholarships possible.”

CAPTION:

Kevin Priddle, president of the McAlester Regional Health Center Foundation, addresses graduating nurses and their family members at the Class of 2016 Practical Nursing Graduation at Kiamichi Technology Center in McAlester on June 9. The class benefitted from a scholarship named for Priddle’s late wife Dianna and granted to the students via the MRHC Foundation.