Pictured left to right: Nancy Deavers, Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President at ConnextCare; RoseAnn Jarrett, ConnextCare Board Member; Katie Smith, Scholarship Recipient; Beth Hallinan, Secretary of the ConnextCare Board of Directors; Tricia Peter-Clark, President and Chief Executive Officer at ConnextCare.
ConnextCare awards scholarship and grant funds in memory of Kathleen A. Ellis, the first Nurse Practitioner in New York State. Ellis was well known in Oswego County. She worked at NOCHSI, now ConnextCare, the Pulaski Health Center, and spent four years working at NOCHSI’s Mexico facility. The community mourned when Ellis lost her battle with cancer and passed away in December 1996 at the age of 52.
The Kathy A. Ellis Scholarship and Grant Funds are awarded to individuals entering a program or continuing their education in the field of nursing. In order to qualify to apply, the candidate must be enrolled or have been accepted into an accredited licensed practical nursing, registered nursing, or nurse practitioner program.
The recipient for 2021 is Katie Smith. Katie is currently enrolled at Nazareth College Nursing Program and will be graduating in May 2022.