Press Release

Release Date: January 2, 2008
HRCHC Contact: Communications Department
Telephone: (207) 861-3466
Email: Communications@HealthReach.org

Stephen Walsh Memorial Scholarship Awarded

Waterville-HealthReach Community Health Centers recently held its Annual Volunteer and Employee Recognition Event at the Augusta Civic Center. In addition to other honors given out that night, the Stephen Walsh Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Ali Arsenault, an occupational therapist major at the University of New England in Biddeford.

Stephen Walsh was a former CEO of HealthReach Community Heath Centers. He believed strongly in the importance of recognizing people for outstanding work and community commitment. In 2006, Walsh made a contribution to begin a scholarship fund to benefit an employee’s dependent enrolled in a two or four year degree program. Prior to his death, Walsh requested that people who wished to honor his memory make gifts to this scholarship fund in lieu of sending flowers.

Scholarship applicants were asked to submit an essay regarding their commitment to their community. The winner was selected by HealthReach’s Rewards and Recognition Committee. Ali Arsenault, the recipient, is the daughter of Cherry Baker who is a family nurse practitioner at Mt. Abram Regional Health Center in Kingfield.

Arsenault has done volunteer work for many organizations including a local soup kitchen, the Ronald McDonald House, Maine Medical Center, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. In high school she was involved in sports, civil rights groups, peer mediation and the student council. At the end of her junior year in high school Arsenault was inducted into the National Honor Society. She also served as a volunteer junior ski patroller at Sugarloaf USA.

HealthReach Community Health Centers is a system of eleven federally qualified, community-based health centers located in central and western Maine. Dedicated providers deliver high-quality, affordable healthcare to underserved residents in over 80 rural communities. HealthReach is a private, non-profit organization with a 30-year history, funded by patient fees, grants and individual donations.