The Cheryl Spencer Scholarship Awards Ceremony was established by Irma (z”l) and Aaron Spencer to honor the memory of their daughter Cheryl (z”l), a young nursing student whose life was tragically cut short, and carry on her life’s mission.
Scholarship recipients at the Cheryl Spencer Scholarship Awards Ceremony.
Photography: Spokesperson's Office, Rambam HCC
A joint scholarship awards ceremony was held to honor outstanding nurses engaged in advanced academic studies at Rambam Health Care Campus’s School of Nursing. This is the 46th year in which the Cheryl Spencer Scholarship Awards were distributed and the 34th and final year for distribution of the Rosa and Yehuda Haran Fund scholarships.
This year, the ceremony’s theme was: "Giving – Strengthening Resilience" and was held on the last day of Hanukkah. Nine scholarships were awarded by the Cheryl Spencer Memorial Fund and three scholarships were awarded in memory of Yehuda and Rosa Haran. Two additional scholarships were awarded by the Israeli Friends of Rambam Association and by the Nursing School’s Administration. For the first time, scholarship recipients included two doctoral students, with four scholarships awarded to clinical nurses with expertise in diabetes, pain management, and surgery.
Professor Michael Halberthal, Rambam’s Director General, congratulated the scholarship recipients, noting how proud he is to head Rambam, where 93% of certified nurses hold advanced academic degrees – the highest percentage among Israeli hospitals. Rambam's Director of Nursing, Ms. Gila Hyams, expressed her appreciation for the nurses’ achievements and emphasized the significance of higher education and professional development in improving patient care.
Since the awards ceremony was established, approximately 500 scholarships have been distributed from the Cheryl Spencer Memorial Foundation and more than 30 have been given out by the Yehuda and Rosa Haran Fund. Mr. Amnon Ramon, a representative of the Haran family, said in his written remarks that he was happy to see firsthand how the nursing teams at Rambam have grown and developed academically and professionally throughout the years. Professor Hanna Admi, Rambam’s former Director of Nursing, honored the audience with her presence. The ceremony was concluded by Ms. Irina Menker, a registered nurse in the Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Institute and a clinical instructor, who delivered a greeting and expressed gratitude and appreciation on behalf of the scholarship recipients.
The ceremony was organized and moderated by Liora Utitz, Nursing Director of Rambam’s Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital—in cooperation with members of the staff development unit in Rambam's Division of Nursing—accompanied by Dr. Hagar Cohen-Saban, Deputy Director of Nursing, in collaboration with the administrative staff the Division of Nursing.
