Memorial Medical Center Foundation Offers $75,000 Plus Scholarships for Local Students

The Memorial Medical Center Foundation announced a major scholarship program on December 30, 2025 that will distribute more than $75,000 to support students from the Deaconess Memorial Medical Center service area, including Dubois County. Current high school seniors and students already enrolled in post-secondary education are eligible; applicants must complete an online Scholarship Application by March 15, 2026. For details or to apply, visit deaconessmemorial.com/giving and click on “Scholarship Opportunities,” or contact Deidra Church at Deidra.Church@deaconess.com or call 812-996-8426.

The foundation’s slate includes a number of named awards targeted to health-care careers and to students committed to returning to Southern Indiana. Among the scholarships listed are the Bethany Volz Medical Staff Scholarship, a $1,500 award for a high school senior in the DMMC service area who plans to enter a two- to four-year health-related program; two Deaconess Memorial Medical Center Med Staff Scholarships of $1,000 each for high school seniors who are dependents of active medical staff or benefit-eligible DMMC employees with a minimum 3.0 GPA; and the Doris A. Ackerman and Family Nursing Scholarship at $1,200 for graduates of Dubois County public high schools in nursing programs, with financial need and plans to return to Dubois County receiving priority.

Additional awards include two Kathleen M. Tempel Nursing Scholarships at $1,500 each for residents of the DMMC service area or Southern Indiana who are enrolled or plan to enroll in ASN or BSN programs and are expected to practice locally after graduation; the Lou Jerger Memorial Healthcare Scholarship at $2,000 for students from the DMMC service area pursuing health-care degrees, with priority for anesthesia interest; and two Mabel L. Kuebler Nursing Endowment awards at $2,200 each for Dubois County public high school graduates in nursing programs with financial need considered. The foundation will also award eight Memorial Medical Center Foundation Scholarships of $1,000 each to students from Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Martin, Pike, Perry, Orange and Spencer counties, and a $1,000 Memorial Medical Center Foundation HOSA Scholarship for a 2025 Health Occupations Students of America participant assigned to DMMC. The named scholarships listed above total $23,100; the foundation says additional named awards bring the program to more than $75,000 overall, some in partnership with the Dubois County Community Foundation.

For Dubois County residents, these scholarships carry both immediate and longer-term economic implications. By lowering the cost barrier to nursing and other health-care programs, the awards can accelerate training for critical roles at local hospitals and clinics, and the foundation’s stated preference for recipients who return to Southern Indiana aims to improve local workforce retention. Several scholarships explicitly prioritize financial need and give preference to past recipients who wish to renew their applications, broadening access for students who face tuition pressures.

Students and families planning to apply should prepare applications well before the March 15, 2026 deadline and use the foundation’s online portal at deaconessmemorial.com/giving. For questions, contact Deidra Church at Deidra.Church@deaconess.com or 812-996-8426.