News : Cooper receives Anthony and Miller Scholarships

Kaila and Dottie

Dottie Anderson recently met with Kaila Cooper to congratulate her on being named the recipient of both the Dr. Tony Anthony Scholarship and the Jeanette M. Miller scholarship. Kaila was awarded her scholarships as an employee of Virginia Gay’s Nursing and Rehab who wants to further her education.

Kaila, who graduated Vinton-Shellsburg in 2011, worked as a CNA through high school and until she passed her exams for her RN degree. Kaila will use her scholarship awards to achieve her goal of earning her BSN.

She would eventually like to complete the education required to become a Licensed Nurse Practitioner. The area she would like to devote her professional time toward is geriatric care and improving family caregiver education and support.

When Kaila and Dottie spoke, Dottie shared why the Anthony scholarship was created. “Tony was concerned that caregivers working in long term care didn’t have enough opportunities to further their education,” explained Dottie, “and because teaching and education were so central to who Tony was, we created the scholarship.”

Kaila, who cared for Dr. Anthony while he lived at VGH, shared how important the scholarship was to her. “For me it’s really an honor to get this scholarship from your family”, Kaila said, “because I learned a lot while caring for Dr. Anthony…..things I will take with me forever. He always let me know how much he appreciated what I did, and I also learned what not to do for him or any patient, ever again”, she said with a laugh.

Virginia Gay has a long tradition of helping and encouraging staff members to advance along their career path. The success of this effort depends on the hard work of people like Kaila, and the generosity of people like Dottie and Tony.