Nursing Home Abuse Awareness and Prevention Scholarship

Awareness and Prevention Scholarship

The Nursing Home Abuse Awareness and Prevention Scholarship is funded by NursingHomeAbuse.net in partnership with Education Aid, Inc. in an effort to provide awareness to the public regarding nursing home abuse. Along with a goal of helping to stop nursing home abuse, the partnership of Education Aid, Inc. and NursingHomeAbuse.net seeks to assist students who do not receive enough financial aid to cover the total cost of their education.

Unlike many typical disability scholarships; however, this scholarship is unique in that it not only provides students with assistance for paying tuition, but also helps with financial expenses that are non-tuition related in an effort to help students in reaching their educational goals. In this regard, the Nursing Home Abuse Awareness and Prevention Scholarship is truly one of a kind.

This is because many students who are enrolled currently in a degree-seeking program do not possess the financial resources in order to complete their education. This is actually one of the primary reasons why many students ultimately drop out of college and never complete their degrees.

The Nursing Home Abuse Awareness and Prevention Scholarship is meant to enable students to complete their education while also providing them the necessary assistance they need in implementing improved elder care within their communities. Consequently, this scholarship is intended to be awarded to an individual who has been affected personally by nursing home abuse and who has made a commitment to making a difference in the senior citizen population, or who has a strong commitment regarding this issue and who is strongly considering working with the elderly population for their career.

According to statistics, nursing home abuse across the United States has become quite pervasive. Based on information from the CDC, approximately 159,000 residents in nursing homes will suffer from abuse; amounting to about 11%. This is a problem that continues to expand as the Baby Boomer population ages at a rapid rate. In fact, 10,000 additional Baby Boomers turn 65 each and every day, amounting to a rate of 1 in 4 who will be at risk of abuse, according to a 2008 British Geriatrics Society report.

Furthermore, reports have indicated that nursing home abuse remains grossly underreported with only 1 in 5 cases of physical abuse of senior citizens ever reported, according to NCEA.gov. This is typically because many people are unaware of the proper steps that should be taken to report nursing home abuse, including how to report possible abuse to authorities, the proper way to document abuse and the statute of limitations as it applies to nursing home abuse. Organizations such as NursingHomeAbuse.net seek to provide education regarding an individual’s rights as nursing home patients, the typical types of injuries that occur in nursing homes, why abuse occurs and the best way to combat it.

The scholarship is exclusively awarded to an applicant who is pursuing a career which will help to prevent abuse in nursing homes. One scholarship winner will receive the $5,000 scholarship. To qualify for the scholarship, applicants are required to be enrolled in a college or university. The proceeds of the scholarship can be used to help in paying for non-tuition related expenses during the 2012-2013 academic year. These expenses may include, but are not necessarily limited to childcare, rent, travel, gas, utilities, books, supplies and groceries.

Additional eligibility requirements do apply to be considered for the Nursing Home Abuse Awareness and Prevention Scholarship. Along with attending an accredited post-secondary institution, applicants must also be a United States citizen, must already be receiving some type of financial aid and must be pursuing a degree in a nursing (preferably geriatrics), social work, healthcare administration or psychology. In addition, applicants must be considering using their education work with the elderly or in order to help fight nursing home abuse. This is not your typical disability scholarship but it’s in the same educational category.

Education Aid, Inc. will begin accepting scholarship applications on January 15, 2012. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is February 15, 2012.

Contact Info for the Nursing Home Abuse and Awareness Scholarship
Shannon Shoemaker
Outreach Coordinator
NursingHomeAbuse.net – ‘Dedicated To Preventing The Causes And
Repairing The Consequences Of Nursing Home Abuse.’
Shannon@NursingHomeAbuse.net