Adams County Medical Foundation awards nine scholarships to health students

Nine Adams County students and recent graduates left the Adams County Medical Foundation’s April 3 scholarship luncheon with $13,000 for health-care training. The foundation handed out eight $1,000 awards and one $5,000 Esther Moore Chandler Scholarship, making the annual event a direct investment in the county’s next doctors, therapists and other care providers.

The Adams County Medical Foundation, founded in 2005 as a 501(c)(3) public charity, supports the Adams County Regional Medical Center and community-based health-related endeavors. Its board is made up of local community leaders, business owners and health-care professionals. In a rural county where recruiting and retaining medical professionals is often difficult, the scholarships help keep Adams County students connected to the local health-care pipeline while they build careers elsewhere.

The Chandler award carries special weight because it was endowed in 2022 with a gift of more than $100,000 from Esther Moore Chandler’s family and is meant to support a student through an entire college pathway, not just cover one semester. Earlier reporting said the annual award can be used for tuition, textbooks and other college fees. By 2026, the foundation said it had awarded more than $81,000 to local students.

This year’s recipients spanned a wide range of stages and specialties. Kiersten Spires, who received the Rural Health Collaborative scholarship, is studying audiology at The Ohio State University. Kelsey Young, a University of Cincinnati student, is working toward speech-language pathology. Hunter Grooms is studying physical therapy at Northern Kentucky University, and Braxlynn McClanahan, already in graduate school at Cedarville University, earned the Ashley Scholarship while pursuing pharmacy.

Chesnee Ayres received one of the Stevens family awards and is studying respiratory care. Ryan Mack, who is finishing his senior year at Manchester High School, will head to Shawnee State University for physical therapy. Liam Purcell of West Union High School and Alisha Hargett of Adams County Christian School received Mathias-family awards and both plan to study radiologic technology. Molly Fuller, already in a master’s program in speech-language pathology at Ohio University, received the Chandler Scholarship for a second year.

The foundation’s scholarship program has grown steadily. In 2025, it awarded seven scholarships totaling $11,000, and in 2023 it said 25 scholarships since 2013 had totaled $43,000. This year’s nine awards continued a pattern of donor-backed family memorials turning into recurring support for Adams County students preparing for health-care careers.