Hospital recognizes local couple for scholarship endowment

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. September 26, 2016 The Foundation for Florida Hospital New Smyrna presented Charlie and Elaine Meyer with a plaque during the boards meeting on Sept. 19.

Six years ago, the New Smyrna Beach retired couple established an endowment that funds scholarships for graduates from New Smyrna Beach High Schools medical academy. Each year, the couples endowment provides an annual $2,500 scholarship for a medical academy graduate pursuing a nursing career.

We set up the endowment because both Elaine and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend college with the assistance of scholarships, said Charlie, who played football on scholarship for the University of Tennessee. After earning a business degree, Charlie led a successful career as vice president of sales in Ethicon, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson.

Elaine, a Boston College alumna, worked for several years as a nurse and was selected for a management development program that paid for her masters degree, which in turn led to a career as an associate chairman of nursing at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

College can open so many doors, and we hope that our scholarship will help these students meet their goals, she said.

The scholarships are administered by the Foundation at Florida Hospital New Smyrna, which partners with the medical academy and provides internship and job shadowing opportunities to the students.

About Florida Hospital New Smyrna

Florida Hospital New Smyrna is a member of Adventist Health System, a faith-based health care organization with 46 hospital campuses and nearly 8,200 licensed beds in 10 states. With 112-beds, Florida Hospital New Smyrna is one of the six Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties that composes the Florida Hospital East Florida Region. As the largest hospital system in the area, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region has 907 beds and more than 6,000 employees.