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The VIA presents Lynn Toth with $5,000 Scholarship

The Village Improvement Association of Rehoboth Beach (VIA) has presented its first $5,000 scholarship to Lynn Toth, RN, MSN, NP-C, a cardiovascular clinical specialist at Beebe Healthcare, to help fund her advanced nursing education.

The VIA created the annual scholarship in 2016 to support registered nurses at Beebe who are working to advance their clinical knowledge and expertise.

Lynn, who coordinates Beebe’s stroke and advanced heart failure programs, received the award to fund the remaining, master-level education courses required to earn a teaching certification in nursing, and also to pay for classes in preparation to earn a practitioner in heart failure certification. Lynn’s career goal is to teach nursing part time at the college level as she continues to work to improve the care of heart failure patients. She is in the process of completing her doctorate nurse practitioner degree.

Lynn has worked at Beebe since 2006, focusing on the care and education of patients with chronic heart failure and those who have suffered a stroke, or who are at risk for a stroke. Previously, she worked for 21 years at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. While at Beebe Healthcare, she has been recognized for her commitment to providing quality patient care. The American Heart Association recognized her in 2012 with a health advocacy award. In 2014, she was one of five nurses statewide to be honored with a Delaware Excellence in Nursing Practice Award by the Delaware Nurses Association and Delaware Organization of Nurse Leaders. That year, she also was one of five authors of a peer-reviewed article on stroke research that appeared in the August issue of Journal of Neuroscience Nursing.

Lynn has coordinated the Heart Walk at Beebe since 2007, and also co-chaired the Go Red for Women luncheon fundraiser in 2016. She has been a member for the past two years of the Golden Key Honor Society at Walden University where she is pursuing her doctorate. She has been active at the federal level as a health advocate.

“Lynn is the perfect nurse to have been chosen out of many worthy applicants to receive this scholarship,” said Rose Marie Patin, MSN, RN, President of the Village Improvement Association of Rehoboth Beach. “She has a graduate degree and is finishing her doctorate. She has many years of experience working in critical care units and in advanced disease management, and she continues her advanced education. She is a nurse’s nurse.”

In today’s world where medical breakthroughs are occurring every day, nurses caring for patients in an acute care environment must be familiar with the latest treatments, procedures and medications in their specialties so that they can provide the highest level of care. To meet this need, advanced degrees, such as bachelors, masters and doctorates in nursing, and nurse practitioner designations, and credentialing programs in specialized fields such as critical care, cardiac, orthopaedics, women’s health, and cancer treatment are available for registered nurses to continually expand their knowledge and expertise.

“Nurses are the backbone of every hospital,” Rose Marie Patin added. “They are always there, at the bedside, supporting the patient and the family members. They are involved in every facet of patient care. As members of the VIA, we believe it is important to support and promote our local nurses in their endeavor to expand their education so they can continue to provide excellent care. The scholarship will help allay the costs involved in obtaining their advanced degrees at the university level and we hope we can continue this partnership with Beebe. This scholarship says to the community that you can trust and have confidence.”

The VIA, established in 1909, has a vision to improve and increase the intellectual culture, educational advancement and continued moral development of its members by promoting the interest, improvement and progress of Rehoboth Beach and by performing charitable and civic work in the greater Rehoboth Beach area. In 2015, its 235 members volunteered nearly 35,000 hours and donated more than $51,000 to local and national beneficiaries.

“We at Beebe Healthcare believe in empowering our nurses as we encourage them to increase their knowledge,” Jennifer Hargreaves said. “We look forward to the possibilities that this annual scholarship will offer one of our nurses as they pursue advancing their professional practice.”

Nurses at Beebe Healthcare gain continual clinical education opportunities onsite through the organization’s Educational Institute (BHEI). Beebe provides tuition reimbursement each year for education directly related to the clinical professional’s work, though the reimbursement does not cover the entire cost of education. Beebe also recognizes six nurses each year who provide high quality care through its Nursing Excellence Award program.

“We congratulate Lynn Toth for this honor,” said Judy Aliquo, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Foundation. “We are proud of the exceptional care that our nurses provide at Beebe Healthcare. We truly appreciate VIA’s donation in support of our nurses’ commitment to always learning, always growing to serve our patients in the extraordinary way that they do. We are honored and thrilled to partner with the VIA and are so appreciative of their generous support of Beebe.”

Caption: The VIA presented Beebe cardiovascular nurse Lynn Toth, RN, MSN, NP-C, with the first annual $5,000 scholarship award for registered nurses pursuing advanced education. Pictured here, are, standing, left to right: VIA member Gail Shaffer; Laura A. Smith RN, MSN, CNE, a clinical educator at Beebe; Stephen Rhone, RN, Vice Present and Chief of Nursing at Beebe Healthcare; Judy Aliquo, President and CEO of Beebe Medical Foundation; VIA members Mary Folan, Veronica Lutz, RN, and Kate McKenzie, RN; and Jennifer Hargreaves, BA, MSN, RN, NE-BC. Sitting in the front row are, left to right: VIA President Rose Marie Patin, MSN, RN; scholarship winner Lynn Toth, RN, MSN, NP-C; and VIA member Carole Suchanek, RN.