The Katy Green and Cathy McJannet Nursing Scholarship Fund awarded six nurses at Sharp Coronado Hospital with scholarships on July 18.
Samantha Beck, Angie Casillas, Lesslie Judith Camacho Flores, Brenda Hernandez, Nancy Ledgerwood and Kaitlyn Shitamoto were presented with scholarships at an awards ceremony, which takes place twice a year.
The fund was initiated in 2021 thanks to a donation to the Coronado Hospital Foundation by Coronado residents Wendy McGuire and Dev Purkayastha. The fund is sustained by continued support from community donors and Sharp Coronado employees.
Sandy Gross, the senior development officer for the Coronado Hospital Foundation, said that McGuire and her husband Purkayastha were inspired by clinical leaders — Green and McJannet, both retired Sharp Coronado Hospital nurses — and wanted to continue their legacy of nursing leadership through a scholarship fund.
Green and McJannet have a combined 70 plus years working as nurses. Green worked at Sharp Coronado in the emergency department, intensive care unit and served as an educator for over 40 years. McJannet’s background is in emergency nursing, military nursing and nursing education.
What started in 2021 as a fund that supported one scholarship awardee, has developed into a program where 21 scholarships have been presented to Sharp Coronado nurses who are pursuing a professional career in nursing.
Over the course of the program, six awardees have successfully completed their nursing programs and four more are due to graduate in December 2024, according to McJannet.
“Coronado Hospital Foundation is honored to have a dedicated fund to continue the advancement of nurses for the development of professional nursing staff to benefit the community,” Gross said. “Sharp Coronado Hospital is a jewel in the community.”
