VCOM 2023 Annual Report

New River Valley Health Foundation Expands Endowed Scholarship

I n 2021, members of the New River Valley Health Foundation made a $612,000 gift to VCOM, enabling the creation of a permanent scholarship endowment program for students who either graduated from a high school or were home-schooled in Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski, Wythe Counties or the City of Radford. With a new gift of $1.2 million in 2023, the foundation increased funding for the endowed scholarship. The New River Valley Health Foundation Scholarship Program is already providing funding for four $24,000 scholarships each year, and the additional $1.2 million will be able to expand the program’s impact to even more students. As has been the case, preference will be given to students with demonstrated financial need who plan to specialize in primary care medicine and express a desire to practice in the New River Valley. Formed in 1984, the New River Valley Health Foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation organized to promote and foster the development of community health activities for charitable and educational purposes in the New River Valley.

In 2021, Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO, FACOFP, president of VCOM, said, “The New River Valley Health Foundation Scholarship Program will have a permanent and generational impact on healthcare in the region. Studies show that physicians who grew up in rural areas like the New River Valley are more likely to pursue careers there.” “The Board of the New River Valley Health Foundation hopes and prays this scholarship program will encourage more students from the region to become physicians and return to practice in the area after residency,” said Fred L. Newhouse, chairman of the foundation’s board. “These physicians will fill a vital need within the greater New River Valley, and we are pleased to provide these funds that foster educational opportunities to improve healthcare in the region.” “We want to express our sincere appreciation to the New River Valley Health Foundation for its investment in furthering our mission of preparing community-focused physicians to meet the needs of rural and medically underserved families,” said President Tooke-Rawlins of the foundation’s newest commitment. “This program will make a real difference to the region and to the future physicians who will practice here.”

2023-2024 Recipients of the New River Valley Health Foundation Scholarship Chris Conley, VCOM-Virginia Class of 2025, and Zachary Simmons, VCOM-Virginia Class of 2025

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