A new scholarship program through Legacy Heath Endowment aims to educate more nurses to serve local communities.

The Jonnie York Nursing Scholarship will cover full tuition, books, and equipment up to $60,000 for local students who have been accepted into an accredited Bachelor of Science Nursing Program or accredited Accelerated Bachelor of Science Nursing program (ABSN). This includes students from Modesto Junior College (MJC) who have already obtained their registered nurse (RN) degree.

Upon completing their studies, graduates must return to work as nurses for two years at a nonprofit or for-profit entity within the communities the Legacy Health Endowment serves.

“Our goal is to rebuild the Central Valley's nursing infrastructure with individuals who grew up in the region and would be more inclined to live and work in the Central Valley, ensuring that all its residents can access quality registered nursing services provided by culturally appropriate trained professionals. The hope is that every local ethnic group will have students who want to become a York Fellow,” said Jeffrey Lewis, President and CEO of LHE, in a press release.

The new scholarship program is named after Denair resident and retired nurse Jonnie York. During her decades-long career, York worked as a public health nurse with Stanislaus County in the Child Health and Disease Prevention Department, worked with in-home and public health nursing and helped people with unmet needs find health and wellness services.

“I am deeply honored by the creation of this program. Educating more nurses and nurse practitioners will help ensure our communities have access to better healthcare, and it is time people realize that nurses are the true frontline of the healthcare workforce,” said York in a press release.

During her years working as a registered nurse in Stanislaus County, there was one problem York saw over and over again — a lack of medical professionals in the local area.

Whether it was the “working poor” as York called the patients she saw through the county health department or pregnant women seeking prenatal care, getting an appointment with a doctor is difficult due to a high demand and medical professionals.

York was on the Legacy Health Endowment Board when they helped establish the Family Nurse Practitioner master’s program at Stanislaus State in 2018. She advocated at the time for extending the help further “upstream” by reaching nursing students before they obtained their bachelor’s degree to encourage them to continue their professional education.

“If we want more people going into the master's program, then we need to help more people become bachelor’s prepared, and even eventually help more people get their a nursing through MJC…because that would increase the number of people getting to the end goal, which is to get more providers in the area,” said York in an interview with the Journal.

To obtain more information about the fellowship program or to apply, email allie@legacyhealthendowment.org or jeffrey@legacyhealthendowment.org