Caption: Bobbi Ream, Chair, Conemaugh Health Foundation (CHF) Board; Sam Valenty; Melissa Phillips; and Susan Mann, President, CHF.
Miners Medical Center board member Sam Valenty honored his late wife, Sara, with the presentation of the first annual Salvatore J. and Sara A. Valenty Nursing Scholarship.Valenty created the scholarship to honor his late wife and to recognize the excellent nursing care she received during her illness.
“The nursing service at Miners and Memorial was so extraordinary, I gained a newfound respect for the profession of nursing,” says Valenty. “I was with her every day, and the nurses were just so good to her, I wanted to do something for them.”
The Salvatore J. and Sara A. Valenty Nursing Scholarship was established with a generous $25,000 donation to the Conemaugh Health Foundation. Each March, $1,000 will be given to a Northern Cambria resident attending the Conemaugh School of Nursing. This year’s recipient is Melissa Phillips of Northern Cambria.
“Education is something that Sara and I always considered to be very important,” says Valenty. “We grew up in a time when none of us were able to go to school, because it was just too expensive, so hopefully with this donation we’ll be able to help others fulfill their educational dreams.”
Valenty has a long history with Miners Medical Center, having served as a member on the Miners Medical Center Board of Trustees since 1994, in addition to a short stint in the early 1980s. Mr. Valenty also currently serves as a Cambria County Commissioner.
“Mr. Valenty has given so much of his time and of himself over the years,” says Susan Mann, President, Conemaugh Health Foundation. “This donation is another testament to his giving spirit. He is an inspiration and a true steward of his community.”
About the Conemaugh Health Foundation
The Conemaugh Health Foundation (CHF) is a nonprofit, qualified charitable organization responsible for raising funds to support the programs and services of the Conemaugh Health System. Donations to the Foundation stay in the local community to serve the needs of the entities of the Conemaugh Health System. These entities include Memorial, Meyersdale and Miners Medical Centers.
