Three MercyOne colleagues receive IHERF scholarships to pursue health careers

First: Kay Takes, Paisley Herbst and Kim Duwe Second: Karl Keeler and John Bieber

Clive, Iowa – Three colleagues from MercyOne have each been awarded a $3,500 scholarship from the Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation (IHERF), which is supported by the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA).

These individuals are among just 60 students from Iowa who have received assistance this year from the IHERF Health Care Careers Scholarship Program:

• John Bieber, an employee of MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, is studying medical lab science at Mercy College. “Being able to provide reliable data for health care providers is an important role I want to pursue,” he said.
• Beth Hammond, an employee of MercyOne West Des Moines Medical Center, is studying Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Allen College. “I have always thought of myself as a helper,” she said. “I have worked as a CNA for the past two and a half years and the experience has helped me determine that nursing is what I am called to do.”
• Paisley Herbst, an employee of MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center, is studying health information management at DeVry University. “Ever since I began my college journey, I knew that I wanted to be in the medical field,” she said.

“We are honored to have committed colleagues, like Beth and John, working at our Des Moines and West Des Moines medical centers,” said MercyOne Central Iowa President, Karl Keeler.

"The Iowa Hospital Education and Research Foundation scholarship has been a wonderful benefit to so many health care professionals,” said MercyOne Eastern Iowa President, Kay Takes. “We are grateful to IHERF and the IHA for making the award available and congratulate Paisley on her tremendous accomplishment."

IHA established the IHERF Health Care Careers Scholarship Program in 2004 to help address the shortage of health care professionals and encourage young Iowans to establish or continue their careers with Iowa hospitals. The first scholarships were awarded in 2005 and now more than 625 students have benefited from the program.

In exchange for this financial support, students agree to work one year in an Iowa hospital for each year they receive an award. In this way, the scholarship program helps stabilize and enhance Iowa’s hospital workforce. Today, 380 scholarship recipients are working in Iowa hospitals.

IHERF is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Iowa Hospital Association. IHERF is a charitable nonprofit and exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code.

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About MercyOne

MercyOne is a connected system of health care facilities and services dedicated to helping people and communities live their best life. MercyOne’s care providers and staff make health the highest priority. The system’s clinics, medical centers, hospitals and affiliates are located throughout the state of Iowa and beyond. Headquartered in central Iowa, MercyOne was founded in 1998 through a collaboration between CommonSpirit Health and Trinity Health – two of the country’s foremost, not-for-profit Catholic health organizations.

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Adam Amdor


MercyOne


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319-272-7368


adam.amdor@mercyhealth.com