The West River Health Services Foundation recently selected their 2024 “High School Senior Scholarship” recipients. Twenty-four area high school seniors applied for the five scholarships available and fortunately, the interest from these funds allowed for a total of eighteen individual $1,000 scholarships. These scholarships are for area high school seniors entering a healthcare-related field of study in college. 

The Jim & Linda Stippich Family personally selected their five, $1,000 scholarship recipients of the Joyce Stippich Memorial Nursing Scholarships. At the same time, the WRHS Foundation’s Scholarship Committee reviewed and scored each of the twenty-four applications based upon a 100-point scoring system (including up to 40 points for their GPA/Academics, up to 30 points for their letters of recommendation and school/community involvement, and up to 30 points for their 300-word minimum essay). Our WRHS Scholarship Selection Committee then selected the following as recipients of the 2024 West River Health Services Foundation Scholarships.

 These eighteen scholarship recipients are from eleven area communities and ten area high schools within our vast West River service area. This service area includes over 20,000 patients over 20,000 square miles! 

Special thanks to the families who have provided large memorial scholarship gifts in memory of their relatives; the families and individuals who have given to our Scholarship Program this past year (via donor gifts, payroll deductions, Perennial Plant Sale, etc.); the Scholarship Committee Members who reviewed and scored the applications (Leonard Bjerklie, Bonnie Smith, Eve Safratowich, Bob Parker and Connie Burwick); and our Selection Committee who made the final selections based on the individual scholarship criteria and the individual application scores (Alyson Kornele, CEO; Dr. Mark Kristy, Radiologist, Ted Uecker, Fund Development Officer). We are grateful.

Congratulations to all of the twenty-four high school seniors who had the courage to apply. We appreciate your honesty and candor. We hope you will consider applying for our “Academic Loan Program” when you are in the final year of your collegiate program. We need you to receive further healthcare education, then consider returning to our safe area to raise families (where your children can participate in most everything) and take care of our patients via top-paying jobs at West River and/or Western Horizons. The invitation is always open to you to apply for a job at West River Health Services and/

or Western Horizons Living Centers. See our available jobs at wrhs.com.

West River Health Services, the healthcare leader in Western Dakota, is comprised of a TOP 100 in the USA Critical Access Hospital in Hettinger, with full Radiology and Laboratory, including an Intensive Care Unit, Emergency Room Services, West River Ambulance Services, a Birthing Unit, Surgery Center, Rehabilitation Center, Eye Center, Visiting Nurses and Cardiac Rehabilitation. In addition, we operate six rural health clinics in Hettinger, Bowman, Mott, New England, Scranton, and Lemmon, SD – where our hustling providers travel daily. With over 40 providers, including 14 physicians, 15 advanced practice providers, 6 physical/occupational/speech therapists, 2 behavioral therapists, and 7 visiting specialists, we are super busy taking care of our area population. Plus we run our own 45-bed Western Horizons Care Center and 17-unit Western Horizons Assisted Living Center in Hettinger. And, if asked, our providers also travel to Care Centers in Lemmon, Mott, Bowman, and Dickinson too. Overall, West River Health Services employs over 275 people, including nearly 100 nurses! And West River has been here since 1950!

West River Health Services Foundation is the fundraising and development arm for West River Health Services and Western Horizons Living Centers as they provide comprehensive health and wellness services for the residents and visitors to our region. If you’d like to contribute to our WRHS Foundation, please send a check written out to: “WRHSF,” 1000 Highway 12, Hettinger, ND, 58639. Or contact Ted Uecker at 701-567-3666 anytime to learn more about our Scholarship Program, Academic Loan Program, and other areas. We need everyone to consider investing in our current and future top-notch healthcare, “close to home.” TOGETHER we are RURAL STRONG! Onward! Ted Uecker, WRHS Foundation