Star Community Health has awarded $1,000 scholarships to six high school seniors from the Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton Area school districts. The scholarships will assist recipients in funding their continuing education.

The recipients were chosen from one-page essays they submitted on the question: Why does education matter to my health? Applicants also had to submit a letter of recommendation from a teacher or community leader.

The winners are:

• Briana Figueroa of Freedom High School in Bethlehem who will attend Northampton Community College.

• Julie Medaska of Liberty High School in Bethlehem who is undecided which college she will attend.

• Trevor Martucci also of Liberty High School who will attend Penn State University.

• Raquel Medina Lora of William Allen School District who will attend Moravian University.

• Maryana Memari of Dieruff High School in Allentown who will attend DeSales University.

• And Wajiha Saba also of Dieruff who will attend Penn State.

The scholarship recipients also will have the opportunity to participate in a weeklong shadowing experience at one of Star Community Health’s health centers this summer. Students will be able to shadow healthcare leaders, providers and frontline personnel, said Mark Roberts, Executive Director.

“Awarding these scholarships and offering the winners the opportunity to shadow a health care professional fits with our commitment to provide top-quality patient care and support the community,” Roberts said. “Star Community Health understands the importance of education and how that can affect long-term health outcomes. Higher education can increase access to career opportunities leading to better health and quality of life.”

This is the first year Star Community Health is awarding seniors scholarships. The essay contest was open to any high school senior in the Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton Area school districts who plans to attend a two- or four-year college.

Students were presented their scholarships at their respective high schools.

Star Community Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike (FQHC-LA) with 13 practices and four mobile dental units, serving over 45,000 patients and counting.  The scholarship program was started in celebration of Star Community Health’s five-year anniversary as an FQHC-LA.

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 20,000 employees providing services at 15 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue of $3.4 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke’s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.

Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley’s first and only four-year medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 52 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 500 residents and fellows. In 2022, St. Luke’s, a member of the Children’s Hospital Association, opened the Lehigh Valley’s first and only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids.

SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  The Network’s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Fortune/PINC AI 10 years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.  In 2021, St. Luke’s was identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  The Network is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest-cost providers.

Information provided to TVL by:
Sam Kennedy