Partners in Heart Health Supports Healthcare Scholars

By Misty Cryer

A reception was held on Wednesday, August 13, for the candidates chosen to receive funds from Partners in Heart Health, a local nonprofit foundation, to support their journey in obtaining a healthcare-related education.

The reception was held in a room of the facility that houses the Advanced Heart and Vascular Center of New Mexico and the Advanced Ambulatory Surgical Center, located at 1619 Skyline Circle in Carlsbad.

Dr. Amanda Ryan, Founder, made the point that the creation of the facility and Partners in Heart Health was not for self-promotion. “They were created for the promotion of cardiovascular disease in our community, which is a major need,” she said.

In opening the reception, Dr. Ryan explained the two major purposes of the organization, which was created two years ago. The first is to help patients in the community who cannot afford cardiovascular care; the second is to help sustain staff and healthcare development among people working in cardiology or other healthcare segments, or those with the goal of doing so.

“We have great applicants, and we had a very good scholarship committee,” said Dr. Ryan, thanking them and specifying that the scholarships given are cost-of-living scholarships that recipients can use as they see fit. She said colleges are affordable with grants and financial aid, but the realization is, “It is expensive to better yourself and further your education.”

The scholars who received scholarships from Partners in Heart Health are pursuing education in healthcare fields. Applicants awarded scholarships at the reception are Colette Christian, Makynlee Anderson, Mia Peacock, Amanda Turrieta, Shanique Bishop, Jessie Thompson, and Christopher Carrillo.

The largest scholarship presented at the reception was for $50,000, awarded to Colette Christian. It brought both tears and cheers as Christian hugged Dr. Ryan when accepting it.

“Colette is a 25-year experienced surgical scrub technologist, who has been with us for the past two years,” said Dr. Ryan, crediting her with helping to get the vision to where it is currently. “She has a future goal to come back to be our director of nursing,” she said.

Dr. Ryan acknowledged the board members, introduced Summer Gonzales, who serves as Interim Director for the foundation, introduced her staff, who make up her team, and acknowledged Tami Wacker, who helped get the foundation started. “We appreciate everyone’s effort in the last two years,” she said.

The room where the reception was held was filled with people, including representatives from the college, local medical facilities, and the City of Carlsbad.

“Seeing so many people from different parts of the community is really uplifting,” said Dr. Rya, as she thanked everyone for attending. “Everyone has just worked really hard with us to get this going,” she said.

“Creating these scholarships is a major step for us in sustaining the cardiovascular care in Carlsbad,” said Dr. Ryan. “We’ve made a lot of progress, but we have a lot of progress left to make.”

Acknowledging contributions from recent benefactors, Dr. Ryan expressed excitement at the ability to do more every year.

In closing, Dr. Ryan thanked the crowd for their support of the foundation, the community, and the scholarship recipients. “We’ve got to find ways to help people who are outside of traditional loans and grants. I am super excited to be able to do this; it’s been a vision for many years,” she said.

Partners in Heart Health Board Members include Dr. Amanda Ryan, founder; Jim Johnson, president; Jeff Patterson, vice president; Tracy Francis, treasurer; Diane Post, board member, Jill Holt, board member; Summer Gonzales, director of development; and Nikki Cooper, director of finance.

Partners in Heart Health is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization, said Dr. Ryan, so donations to the foundation can offer tax benefits that support investing in people. Upcoming fundraisers for Partners in Heart Health are intended to support its initiative.