COLUMBUS – Last week Senator Sue Morano (D-Lorain) presented the first ever Senator Sue Morano Scholarship at the Ohio Nurses Foundation 9th Annual Nurses Choice Awards and Scholarship Luncheon. The $500 scholarship goes to a Registered Nurse who is returning to school for an advanced degree in order to teach Ohio’s next generation of nurses. This year, the scholarship was presented to Christine Pavlick, a Registered nurse at St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown.
“It was an honor to present the $500 scholarship to Christine Pavlick, a Registered Nurse for over 18 years at St. Elizabeth Health Center,” Senator Morano said. “After speaking with Christine, it is apparent that her desire to combine experience and education will assist Ohio's current crisis with the nursing shortage. I am honored to present this scholarship to her.”
Senator Morano has long been an advocate for nursing issues and finding solutions for the nursing shortage. In the 2005-2006 academic year, 88,000 qualified applicants were turned away from nursing schools throughout the United States due to faculty shortages. As a consequence of the faculty shortage and other factors, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that by the year 2020 there will be a 36% shortfall in Registered Nurses (RNs) nationwide.
“It is vitally important to give nurses every opportunity to go back to school in order to teach. Ohio and the nation are facing a serious nursing shortage,” Senator Morano said. “Without adequate nursing education, Ohio simply will not have enough instructors to teach nursing students and, in turn, get them into the workforce.”
The Ohio Nurses Foundation created the Senator Sue Morano Scholarship to honor the Senator’s work on Senate Bill 89, which was signed into law by Governor Ted Strickland last December. The bill is geared toward continuing education for nurses who want to teach in the State of Ohio.
Through its Scholarship Fund, the Ohio Nurses Foundation gives about $10,000 a year in grants and scholarships to nursing students and researchers. Since its inception in 2001, the Foundation has distributed over $70,000 in scholarships, research grants and continuing education dollars to nurses and nursing students.
Besides her duties in the General Assembly, Senator Morano is also a Registered Nurse who still works 3 nights a month in the Intensive Care Unit at Community Health Partners Hospital in Lorain.
Photograph by Jennifer Norfolk
