09 Feb YRMC receives grant money to help fund research and education at AWC

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YUMA — YRMC received a $500,500 grant from the Flinn Foundation to enhance research capacity at Yuma Regional Medical Center and build a pathway for students at Arizona Western College to seek health-system relevant credentialing in the field.
Trudie F. Milner, Ph.D., COO, YRMC, and Reetika Dhawan, VP for Workforce Development and Career and Technical Education, AWC, will lead this project. Both Dr. Milner and Ms. Dhawan are known to the Flinn Foundation. Dr. Milner collaborates on a Flinn-funded study of the impact of perchlorate contamination on the health of the population in the Yuma region, and Ms. Dhawan is a 2022 Flinn Brown Fellow.
“We are pleased to receive this grant award and put it towards the meaningful work of Yuma Regional Medical Center,” said Dr. Robert Trenschel, YRMC President and CEO. “This investment will strengthen Yuma Regional Medical Center’s model of care today and far into the future.”
Dr. Daniel Corr, President of Arizona Western College, highlighted the pressing need for experienced healthcare professionals, with the current trends pointing to an acute shortage in this sector. “In response, under Reetika Dhawan’s leadership, we are resolute in equipping our community through comprehensive training and skills development vital for meeting future healthcare job demands.”
The grant will support the development and delivery of seven foundational educational modules across a breadth of topics essential for increasing the staff’s understanding of organizational and scientific aspects of applied clinical research. “In parallel to the effort at YRMC, a new career pathway, with a focus on healthcare data management and data analytics, will be initiated at AWC, focused on developing a pipeline of trained personnel to fill current gaps and meet the growing demand within clinical research and other healthcare settings,” said Dhawan.
The Flinn Foundation grant will also provide seed funding to initiate new research programs and dollars to support an annual symposium for sharing cutting-edge findings.
This investment will accelerate education and training opportunities and enhance institutional research at Yuma Regional Medical Center. The grant also aligns with the Flinn Foundation’s mission of improving the quality of life in Arizona to benefit future generations through the advancement of bioscience and the provision of education to high-achieving students.
“Yuma Regional Medical Center is grateful for the $500,500 gift and is committed to growing our clinical research program,” said Dr. Milner. “We know this vital work is essential to expanding treatment options for potentially life-saving treatments for local patients and increasing overall access to care in our community.”