‘Pinky’ Scholarship

‘Pinky’ Scholarship

SHARON, PA.

Sharon Regional Health Foundation has created the Pauline “Pinky” Rowlands Nursing Scholarship in memory of Rowlands, who graduated from the Sharon Regional School of Nursing in the 1950s.

Family and friends of Rowlands donated more than $20,000 in her memory to establish the scholarship from which yearly grants will be given to eligible nursing school students.

The nursing school is on the health system’s main campus at 740 E. State St. Through a recent collaborative program with Penn State Shenango, the school of nursing offers area residents the opportunity to earn both a diploma in nursing from Sharon Regional and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Penn State. For information, visit www.sharonregional./com/schoolnursing.htm.

For information on charitable giving at Sharon Regional, contact David Grober, president and executive director of the Sharon Regional Health Foundation, at 724-983-7317.

MS awareness month

COLUMBUS

March is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month in Ohio, the only state to recognize an entire month. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms are unpredictable, ranging from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is asking people with multiple sclerosis to connect with one another because every connection counts. Also, people are encouraged to visit MSconnection.org, an online community that provides an opportunity for people to get involved with the MS movement, to gain accurate information and to discover valuable resources.

In the Mahoning Valley area, the Walk MS is April 27 at the Mahoning Valley Scrappers Stadium in Niles. Bike MS: Central Ohio Challenge is a new one-day ride scheduled for July 20 starting at New Albany High School. The Bike MS: Pedal to the Point Ride is Aug. 3-4 beginning at Brunswick High School. Registration is open for all events.

For information about multiple sclerosis and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, visit MSohiobuckeye.org or call 1-800-344-4867.

Grants for blood awareness testing

The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors of Golden, Colo., is offering $25,000 grants for primary-care practice groups to plan practice-management changes that will implement laboratory blood testing before physical examinations of patients, providing additional opportunities to improve patient health literacy.

Three awards of $25,000 each will be made to qualified clinics, in addition to educational tools designed to inform patients with low literacy skills about blood tests. For information about the LabsFirst Project, call 1-614-728-3775 or visit wyoung@chronicdisease.org. by Friday.

Beatitude grant

YOUNGSTOWN

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mahoning Valley & Western Pennsylvania has given $3,500 to the Beatitude House’s, 238 Tod Lane, transitional housing program, “A House of Blessing.”

“We’re excited to be a part of a program which helps give children a much brighter future, and to offer support for this program that advances Ronald McDonald House Charities’ mission of lifting children to a better tomorrow,” said Herb Washington, RMHC board president and McDonald’s owner/operator.

RMHC funds will underwrite the purchase of car and booster seats to ensure safe transportation for the children.

The child-advocacy program provides services for homeless and financially challenged women and children.