July, 2004

CHA thrilled with response to bursary program
by Darrell Cole, The Amherst Daily News

AMHERST - A week after it unveiled the program with the Cumberland Health Care Foundation, the Cumberland Health Authority is very pleased with the response to the establishment of a bursary program.

Initial reaction has been quite positive with a large number of young people - both recent high school graduates and those already attending health-care related programs of study - expressing an interest in applying for a bursary.

Earlier this month, the CHA announced that with financial support from the local health care foundations it was establishing a bursary program designed to encourage local young people to choose health care as their profession of choice.

In its inaugural year, the program will award four bursaries and will expand that number to sixteen by year four. Renewable bursaries in the amount of $4,000 will be awarded following a detailed selection process with a focus on the professions where the CHA anticipates staff retirement/vacancies at the time when the student graduates from their program of study.

Following graduation, those individuals would come back to the local area for a "return for service" component equal to the number of years for which they received a bursary.