FARGO, N.D. – Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) Caring Foundation has awarded this year’s Healthcare Leader scholarship in the amount of $5,000 to Betsy Kanz, a graduate student attending the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. Kanz is pursuing her doctor of nursing organizational leadership degree and currently works as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at the University of Mary.
Core to the scholarship is developing an innovative and impactful project in health care. The project must also have a leadership plan designed to support successful outcomes as well as academic and personal growth. Kanz’s project will introduce health care providers in North Dakota to the Cumulative Approach Model to Healthcare Practice. Her goal is to help them reduce health care spending on microsystem levels.
Kanz states, “Reduced health care spending may improve the health and wellness of North Dakotans because it will encourage providers to utilize macrosystem approaches for preventing acute and chronic illnesses.”
Kanz further shares, “I initially chose health care as a career path because I wanted to fix people, but now I continue to be drawn toward it because I see potential in how policies and best practices can affect the bigger picture.
“Thank you, BCBSND Caring Foundation, for providing these scholarships for North Dakota students. While the benefit of receiving a doctoral degree vastly outweighs the burden of tuition costs, it is helpful to reduce the amount of debt we incur.”
Dr. Greg Glasner, BCBSND Caring Foundation board member shared, “This Healthcare Leader Scholarship provides financial support to educate a leader in health care. If we can help train someone who can spread knowledge and guide the care of their community, that’s a win.
“Training to be a leader requires a different level of thinking, a different level commitment – and leadership means a lot. If you want sustainable care, you need the right leadership. If we can contribute scholarships that help train people to work in North Dakota communities, we are doing exactly the right thing – not just for the individual who receives the scholarship, but for the state.”
About the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota (BCBSND) Caring Foundation
Established in 1989, the BCBSND Caring Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Through giving and investing, the Caring Foundation focuses on key health issues that help improve the health and well-being of North Dakotans and their communities. Caring Foundation staff work with grantees to support nonprofit sustainability, collaborate on shared outcomes and create lasting change.
