Moorpark College Foundation receives scholarship money for nursing students

The Los Robles Medical Staff organization has donated $10,000 to the Moorpark College Foundation to be used for scholarships for Moorpark College nursing students.

Dr. Barry Statner, treasurer of the Los Robles Medical Staff organization, facilitated the donation. The money will fund 10, $1,000 awards which cover tuition and fees for students who show evidence of financial need.

The organization also donated $10,000 in 2004. According to Margaret Ramos, scholarship coordinator at Moorpark College, students receiving scholarships in 2004 included a mother of four young children who volunteered at the Simi Valley Free Clinic while in the nursing program; a cancer survivor and single mother of three; and a 21-year-old male who now works at Los Robles Hospital and is considering more training for an intensive care specialty.

"One of the major reasons students do not enter the nursing program, or drop out of the program prior to completion, is finances," said Dean Brenda Shubert. "Most of our students have family responsibilities and work. In this intense program, working even parttime is very difficult."

Moorpark College has had a consistently high state board pass rate, between 95 and 100 percent, and nearly all the graduates have a job waiting for them upon graduation.

The college has sought to combat the nursing shortage by seeking additional funding to expand its program, according to nursing coordinator Kim Hoffmans. Three grants have enabled the college's nursing program to grow from about 55 graduates to 79 this past year.