Jo Priem and Andrew Wooden, were awarded the Phyllis A. McClenathan Nursing Scholarship through the Winona Health Foundation, helping them take the next step in their nursing journeys.
Jo Priem, Critical Care Paramedic with WAAS, is part of the Winona Health community as a caregiver and a nursing student. While juggling work, school, and family life, she says the scholarship will make staying focused on her education easier. “Receiving this scholarship means so much to my family,” she said. “My little one has had a rough go of it his first couple of years, so we’ve had quite a few medical bills stacking up. With working three jobs and going to school, this will definitely help me be able to maintain my studies and my 4.0.”
Andrew Wooden is also balancing caregiving and school, serving as a CNA and working in food service at Winona Health while attending the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. He sees this scholarship as a way to invest more fully in the people around him. “I’m grateful to receive the scholarship; it will allow me to focus on my academics while I’m at school at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire,” Andrew said. “I’ve also learned through my role as a CNA at Winona Health that I’m interested in working in critical care in the future.”
The scholarship was established in memory of Phyllis A. McClenathan, a long-time nurse in Winona Health’s Family Birth Center who passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. Her husband, Dean, and their children created the scholarship in 2006 to honor her legacy and support future nurses like Jo and Andrew.
Anna Sibenaller, Winona Health Foundation Community Coordinator, shared how meaningful the scholarship program is—both to the recipients and the family who made it possible.
“We just want to express our gratitude to Dean McClenathan and Phyllis’s family for establishing the Phyllis A. McClenathan Nursing Scholarship,” she said. “We are so thrilled that we’re able to help the next generation of caregivers become the very best that they can be.”
The $1,000 scholarship is available to individuals in the final one or two semesters of completing a two- or four-year nursing degree who live within a 60-mile radius of Winona, attend a post-secondary school within the designated area or are current caregivers at Winona Health.
To learn more about the Phyllis A. McClenathan Nursing Scholarship, contact the Winona Health Foundation at 507.494.7384 or visit winonahealth.org/foundation.
Jo Priem (above, right) and Andrew Wooden (below, left) were awarded the Phillis A. McClenathan Nursing Scholarship.