Ogeechee Technical College and Rockin’ Out Alzheimer’s Disease (ROAD) Foundation partner to provide scholarships to students in the Nurse Aide Certificate Program at OTC to assist with tuition, books, and other academic materials.
Chandler Dennard, executive director of Willow Pond Senior Care, and Darron Burnette, divisional CEO of Synovus, were instrumental in making the partnership come to life.
“We are extremely excited that the Rockin’ Out Alzheimer’s Foundation is able to contribute to the CNA program at OTC. The nursing assistants being trained at OTC will be the front-line caregivers, for patients with Alzheimer’s, in our hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities,” said Dennard. “With that being said, there is not a more needed or important group of people being trained in the medical field than a CNA. The Rockin’ Out Alzheimer’s Foundation is proud to be a part of providing scholarships for this much needed program.”
The $10,000 scholarship pool will be divided annually to provide scholarships of up to $1,500 to students in good standing with Ogeechee Technical College and who are enrolled in OTC’s Nurse Aide Certification program. Preference is given to students working in geriatric settings or seeking a career working in geriatric care.
“Ogeechee Tech is incredibly grateful to the Rockin’ Out Alzheimer’s Foundation for this partnership,” said Michelle Davis, Vice President for College Advancement. “This last year has introduced new challenges for many of our students and these scholarships often serve as the catalyst that propels them on to complete their programs and enter the workforce.”
The Nurse Aide Certificate program was originally established in the late 1990s and has historically produced hundreds of Certified Nursing Assistants across the region. Students are trained in the underlying fundamentals of health care delivery and gain valuable skills in communications, mathematics, and human relations.
