Kent State Student one of two Minority Scholarship Winners

The Robinson Memorial Hospital Foundation is pleased to announce two recipients of the Dr. Howard B. Minott and Dr. Melodie Morgan-Minott Minorities in Healthcare Career Scholarship.

The two recipients are Delcy T. Eskridge, of Ravenna, and Shealanda M. Lewis, of Akron.

Delcy Eskridge is in the bachelor of science pre-nursing program at . She has been a patient care technician in the Step Down Unit at Robinson Memorial Hospital since 2010. Delcy was born in Nicaragua and moved, at the age of five with her family, to the United States to escape political and military unrest. “My parents would often tell me of the opportunities that America has to offer if you are willing to work hard towards receiving an education. Receiving this scholarship will allow me to pursue my dream to achieve the opportunity that my parents spoke about when we first came to America.”

Shealanda Lewis is enrolled in the nursing program at Excelior College. She obtained an associate of science degree, cum laude, in medical assisting from Southern Ohio College. She is employed as a member of the medical support staff with Robinson Health Affiliates, Inc. “Becoming a registered nurse has been a lifelong dream and goal I have yet to accomplish. I am a 35-year-old single mother of two who knows exactly what it takes to achieve this goal and am prepared to take advantage of this opportunity.”

The Dr. Howard B. Minott and Dr. Melodie Morgan-Minott Minorities in Healthcare Career Scholarship is part of the Foundation’s “Minorities in Healthcare – A World of Opportunity” program at Robinson Memorial Hospital. The program was established to help address the ongoing need to recruit and retain qualified healthcare employees and the need to increase awareness of healthcare careers within the minority community.

The Minorities in Healthcare Career Scholarship was named for the Aurora couple who made a significant contribution to the program. Howard B. Minott, MD, practices with Center for Urologic Health in Ravenna and Melodie Morgan-Minott, MD, is a psychiatrist in Kent.

“Melodie and I are pleased to encourage highly qualified minority students interested in a career in healthcare to consider working at Robinson Memorial Hospital,” Dr. Howard B. Minott said. “This scholarship is our way of giving to future generations and to the hospital that has meant so much to both of us.”