Advancing Community Healthcare Scholarship Endowment Fund

Celebrating a lasting commitment to community health, the Community Healthcare of Wapello Board has established an endowed scholarship fund with the Community Foundation of Louisa County using the organization’s remaining assets. This new scholarship will support healthcare professionals who live or work in Louisa County and are pursuing advanced education to strengthen patient care in their community, with preference given to those working toward becoming nurse practitioners.

Pictured: Ann Thompson, Roger Huddle, and Pat Murphy

Ann Thompson, a Community Healthcare of Wapello Board member, shared her enthusiasm, saying, “I am so happy to see the money going to something good and useful.” The Community Foundation of Louisa County is excited to steward this fund and celebrate the positive, long-term impact it will have on healthcare in the community for generations to come.

The scholarship builds on a powerful legacy that began in 2002, when Community Healthcare of Wapello was formed in response to the potential loss of the University of Iowa Medical Clinic in Wapello. Led by June Hardin, local residents came together in an extraordinary show of community pride, raising more than $250,000 to purchase the clinic building and ensure continued access to healthcare.

For more than a decade, the community-owned clinic served Wapello and surrounding areas with strong local support. Though the clinic closed in 2012, the spirit of collaboration and generosity that sustained it lives on. Through this scholarship, the community’s investment in healthcare continues, transforming past dedication into future opportunity.

The scholarship application will be open from February 2 through March 16, 2026. Applications can be submitted online at www.growinglouisacounty.org/scholarships.