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By Amber Swardson
Due to the nation’s nursing shortage, nurses work long, arduous shifts that leave them weary and susceptible to burn out. Hospitals serving Native Americans face unique challenges when staffing with non-native nurses who likely have little exposure to Native American culture, causing language and cultural barriers. A recent Thomas A. Plein Foundation endowment will help bring skilled Navajo nurses to Navajo communities.
Extending the Plein family values and traditions, the Thomas A. Plein Foundation gives to missions that support:
In keeping with these criteria, Matthew Frazier, successor to Thomas Plein as president of the Plein Foundation, contacted UNM to establish an endowed scholarship for Navajo students in UNM’s College of Nursing (CON). “Navajo reservations are in desperate need of trained Navajo nurses,” explains Frazier. “We hope this scholarship will encourage Navajo students to advance their education and then return to the medical profession in Navajo communities.”
“We are always grateful to donors like the Thomas A. Plein Foundation in creating a new permanent fund to support the education goals of our students,” explains Dr. Nancy Ridenour, CON dean. “Our Native American students often return to their home environments for their nursing careers and the needs in those rural areas are significant. Scholarships help to ensure their success.”
The Plein Foundation is excited to begin a philanthropic relationship with UNM. “We hope to encourage native students to keep focused and determined in their studies,” says Frazier. “The benefits to themselves and those they help in the future will be amazing and inspiring.”
Thomas A. Plein, of Oshkosh, Wis., established the Thomas A. Plein Foundation in the 1980s to advance his family’s philanthropic interests. The family gained wealth through the bottling of 7-Up beverages. Grateful for their business success, they believed in giving back to their community. Plein, a Marquette University Law School graduate, hoped his foundation would help countless individuals and organizations to spread wealth and opportunity to the disadvantaged. Plein died in November of 2004.
