{"id":198031,"date":"2024-05-21T08:00:07","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T18:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=198031"},"modified":"2024-05-21T08:22:19","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T18:22:19","slug":"2m-gift-uh-maui-nursing-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/21\/2m-gift-uh-maui-nursing-students\/","title":{"rendered":"$2M gift to UH<\/abbr> Maui aims to help more nursing students"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Smiling
Nursing students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A $2 million gift from the Gilbert and Aileen Chuck Foundation aims to alleviate the state\u2019s critical nursing shortage by providing full scholarships for top nursing students at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Maui College<\/a> for the next 10 years starting this fall.<\/p>\n

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Gilbert and Aileen Chuck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The gift creates the Kam Scholars Program. The merit-based scholarship program will provide about half of the first- and second-year associate of science in nursing (ASN<\/abbr>) students with enough funds to cover the costs of tuition and books, fees and other costs associated with attendance.<\/p>\n

“Our current ASN<\/abbr> students are experiencing multiple financial stressors, which create barriers to their learning,” said Mary Farmer, Allied Health Department chair.<\/p>\n

“The Kam Scholars Program will make a tremendous impact on helping our students thrive in nursing school and beyond.”<\/p>\n

Filling critical needs on Maui<\/h2>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> has only 70% of the registered nurses (RN<\/abbr>s) it needs this year, according to the most recent Healthcare Workforce Initiative Report<\/a> from the Healthcare Association of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. There were nearly 150 open positions for licensed practical nurses (LPN<\/abbr>s) and RN<\/abbr>s on Maui in 2022. The report noted that 39% of all LPN<\/abbr> positions were vacant that year, up from 20% in 2019, while a quarter of all positions for medical-surgical RN<\/abbr>s were vacant, and some specialties had a vacancy rate of up to 42%.<\/p>\n

Gilbert and Aileen Chuck Foundation Trustee Ron Purdy said an investment in a nurse is an investment in an individual, their family and the Maui community for many years to come.<\/p>\n

“We hope that the scholarships make the students\u2019 enrollment a little easier and provide a feeling of accomplishment for their hard work in pursuing their careers,” Purdy said. “We are pleased to make a difference in the future for these aspiring students and that Maui\u2019s health will be better for their hard work at the college pursuing their career.”<\/p>\n

The Kam Scholars Program is named for Aileen Chuck\u2019s father, Edwin T. Kam (1904–93), who was born on Kauaʻi<\/span>, trained as a physician in China and at the University of Pennsylvania and had a longtime medical practice in Windward Oʻahu<\/span>. Aileen Chuck died in June 2023, seven years after the death of her husband.<\/p>\n

More at UH<\/abbr> Foundation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> has only 70% of the nurses it needs this year, according to a recent report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[189,572,319,60],"class_list":["post-198031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-nursing","tag-scholarship","tag-uh-foundation","tag-maui-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t