WAUSAU – The Aspirus Health Foundation’s Aspirus Scholars Program has awarded $550,000 to four medical students from the Medical College of Wisconsin-Central Wisconsin campus, Aspirus announced this week.
The program is a community collaboration to address the national physician shortage and meet the needs of people and communities in north central Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.
The Aspirus Scholars Program provides scholarships for tuition to medical students and connects them to Aspirus and the communities served by Aspirus during their training. In return, students commit to employment at Aspirus in the areas of primary care, psychiatry or general surgery.
The students who have accepted scholarships:
- Madeline Klippel, second year medical student
- Joseph Novak, first year medical student
- Hannah Marti, first year medical student
- Natalie Weeks, first year medical student
“Our Aspirus Scholars award recipients already have strong ties to north central Wisconsin as well as the U.P. of Michigan and are passionate about medicine and caring for patients,” said Kalynn Pempek, executive director, Aspirus Health Foundation and Volunteer Services, in an Aspirus news release. “Each will be a tremendous addition to the Aspirus family and the communities we serve.”
The Aspirus Scholars Program is a forward-looking approach that could bring as many as 62 new primary care, psychiatry or general surgery providers to communities in north central Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan by the year 2030. It leverages the unique opportunity to collaborate with a college partner whose program is specifically designed to attract students interested in learning and working in community and rural settings.
A selection committee made up of Aspirus and community members from Wisconsin and the U.P. of Michigan screened the applications and selected the third class of Aspirus Scholars.
