Photo caption: PhD student Salamata Yoda, FNP-BC, MSN, BSN, RN, CLC, is this year’s WVU School of Nursing Jonas Nurse Scholar.
West Virginia University is proud to announce it has been awarded a new grant of $15,000 from Jonas Philanthropies, a leading national philanthropic funder of graduate nursing education.
As a grant recipient, West Virginia University joins Jonas Philanthropies’ efforts to improve the quality of healthcare by investing in nursing scholars whose research and clinical foci specifically address our nation’s most urgent needs. The grant will empower and support nursing students with financial assistance, leadership development and networking to expand the pipeline of future nursing faculty, researchers and advanced practice nurses.
Matched by $15,000, for a total amount of $30,000 of its own monies, the grant will fund the scholarship of one doctoral nursing student in 2021.
“Jonas Philanthropies has been a great supporter of the WVU School of Nursing,” Tara Hulsey, PhD, dean of the WVU School of Nursing and vice president of Health Promotion and Wellness, said. “We are grateful to once again receive their financial support along with their continued confidence in our students and programs. With the increasing need for nurses with varying skill levels and competencies, it is vital we educate more and more nurses and any and all scholarship assistance will help us do just that.”
With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day, 1 an entire generation of the healthcare workforce is aging at a rapid pace. 2 This, coupled with care for the 22.2 million veterans living across the country, 3 means the United States is facing a dire need for a new era of highly educated nursing professionals. West Virginia University School of Nursing and Jonas Philanthropies believe the investment in the education of nurse leaders is critically important to improve the healthcare system.
The West Virginia University’s Jonas Nurse Scholar is part of the new 2021-2023 cohort of more than 75 Scholars pursuing PhD, DNP or EdD degrees at 49 universities across the country whose doctoral work will focus on such critical health priorities as Environmental Health, Vision Health, Psych-Mental Health, and/or Veterans Health. They join more than 1,000 Jonas Scholar alumni representing 157 universities across all 50 states.
This year’s WVU School of Nursing Jonas Nurse Scholar is PhD student Salamata Yoda, FNP-BC, MSN, BSN, RN, CLC. Salamata is a family nurse practitioner at BronxCare Health System, Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center, and is an adjunct nursing clinical instructor at Hostos Community College, New York. Her priority research area is improving breast cancer care in disadvantaged communities by addressing social-determinants of health, poor health coverage, lack of knowledge, awareness and empowerment barriers.
“My interest in this research evolved from a clinical observation of the phenomenon at my practice,” Salamata said. “Since the lack of adherence to mammogram screening seen in African American and Hispanic women is a multi-level problem, my program of research will address this problem through a multi-system intervention involving interdisciplinary team collaboration."
“Each year, we grow more in awe of all our Jonas Scholars have achieved. It is with great honor that we welcome and celebrate this new cohort of nurse leaders,” said Donald Jonas, who co-founded Jonas Philanthropies with his late wife Barbara Jonas. “With more than 1,400 Jonas Scholars to date who are committed to meeting the greatest health needs of our time, we look forward to continuing our work with our partner nursing schools and expanding our impact to advance care for the country’s most vulnerable populations.”
WVU School of Nursing students previously selected for the Jonas Nurse Leader Scholars Program.
2018-2020
Brad Phillips
Melissa McCoy
Jessica Floyd
2016-2018
Amy Bruce
Karen Jagiello
Monica Laquinta
2014-2016
Trisha Petitte
Christine Mott
2012-2014
Terri Marcischak