Representatives and students from the University of Guam School of Health accepted a check worth $100,000 from TakeCare Insurance Company on Sept. 15. 

The donation is part of a multi- year partnership with the University which concludes in 2020.

“The money we get from TakeCare every year is used to fund so many aspects of our program,” said Dr. Margaret Hattori-Uchima, Dean of the School of Health. “The donation helps us create opportunities for both faculty and students to develop their skills.”

In the past, the funds from TakeCare were used to upgrade the School’s Learning Resource Center Simulation Lab, provide scholarships to students, offer professional development opportunities to faculty, and buy instructional materials used to study for the NCLEX exam— a standardized test nursing majors must take to become registered nurses. Hattori-Uchima said the funds have also been an integral part in establishing extra clinical classes for students during the summer and winter intersessions and funding a new, online NCLEX review course.

This summer, funds from TakeCare were also used to pay for a nutrition course taken by senior health science major Lesley Abonales and junior nursing major Kamille De Leon as part of their participation in the Child Health Assessment in the Pacific Undergraduate Fellowship Program.

TakeCare President Jeff Larsen said that over the last nine years that the partnership has existed, UOG has produced and continues to produce quality nursing professionals that eventually give back to the community.

“Obviously we want to improve community health, and one of the things this does is hopefully bring more nurses into the community,” Larsen said. “We’re very proud of the partnership with UOG and the nursing program. They’ve really got a great program, and we’re really proud to be a partner in providing equipment, materials, scholarships and more.”