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Sixteen local college nursing students were presented scholarships by the Bakersfield Memorial Hospital Foundation.  Jackie Hay, scholarship committee chair and BMH Foundation board trustee made the presentation at a breakfast on August 4.

"This year we received a lot more applicants than we've had in the last several years and they were of superior quality which made the screening process very difficult," Hay said. 

Nineteen years ago, the BMH Foundation board formed a nursing scholarship program for local nursing students in honor of Ralph Smith, Jr., founder of Bakersfield Memorial Hospital.  The Smith scholarship awards a total of $10,000 each year. In 1997 another scholarship endowment was formed to honor Dr. and Mrs. Leslie Riechel.  The Helen and Leslie Riechel Nursing Endowment Fund provides enough funds for three nursing scholarships each year for employees of Bakersfield Memorial Hospital.  Since 2006, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital has provided $5,000 per year for the BMH Foundation to use for nursing scholarships in honor of National Doctors' Day.

Since 1989, 238 nursing scholarships totaling $250,000 have been granted to local students.    

 All local nursing students are encouraged to apply for these scholarships.   Applications are available in January each year in the nursing departments at Bakersfield College, California State University, Bakersfield, and the BMH Foundation office.  Beginning in 2009, applications will be available on the BMH Foundation website at www.supportbakersfield.org.  The scholarships range from $625 to $1,250 each.