NEW HEALTH CARE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE NOW AVAILABLE

Two new health care scholarships will be available through the St. Francis Auxiliary this year, bringing to 11 the number of grants annually awarded to students pursuing careers in the medical field.

The new scholarships have been endowed in honor of long-time St. Francis Medical Center volunteer Bess Estes and the late Lucy Ellen Towse of Cape Girardeau.

"The Bess Estes Scholarship has been established by The Friends of St. Francis in appreciation for her many hours of volunteer work here at St. Francis and throughout the community," said Edythe M. Davis, executive director of the St. Francis Foundation.

Estes is a charter member of The Friends and has been a member of the St. Francis Auxiliary for many years.

The second grant, the Lucy Ellen Towse Memorial Scholarship, has been endowed through a gift from her estate as well as from memorials from her friends and family.

The Towse scholarship is intended to benefit non-traditional students who are pursing health care training. Davis said Towse was a physical education instructor at Cape Girardeau Central High School for many years and the scholarship "continues her life-long goal of helping people continue their education."

Contributions to these and other scholarship funds are welcome and may be directed to the St. Francis Foundation. The St. Francis Auxiliary began its health care scholarship program in the early 1980s.