In October 2023, Clinton Medical Clinic (CMC) established a scholarship through the Sampson Community College (SCC) Foundation for students enrolled in healthcare programs at SCC: The Clinton Medical Clinic Healthcare Scholarship.
The scholarship was designed to help deserving SCC healthcare students fulfill their educational pursuits. The award honors past and current medical providers who have served Sampson County with both dedication and professionalism.
Dr. Ken Yang, provider at CMC for 25 years, has personally seen the impact the College has made on the community through the years. He noted that the majority of CMC’s ancillary staff are SCC graduates, and how many of the athletes he’s coached have degrees from the College as well. His children were also able to take courses throughout high school, which reduced their undergraduate course load.
According to Yang, in recent years, there has been a growing deficit of healthcare professionals at all levels within the labor market. Over the past two decades, he mentioned that graduates of SCC have been “instrumental” in meeting workforce need and staffing all of Sampson County’s healthcare facilities.
“Without SCC it would be near impossible to recruit and retain these skilled positions,” he stated. “Particularly with medical assistants, phlebotomists, CNAs, LPNs, and RNs.”
Through the new scholarship, Yang hopes to assist students who have a desire to pursue professions in healthcare but lack the resources to do so.
He voiced, “Our scholarship would help someone disadvantaged to get a helping step up towards their degree. I appreciate the work Lisa Turlington does to build the SCC Foundation for the betterment of our county population seeking higher education.”
CMC provider for 22 years, Dr. Gilbert Palmer, similarly expressed how the scholarship has been a “full circle moment” for him. Obtaining his prerequisite courses at SCC before transferring to a four-year university, Palmer remarked that he is “living proof” of how SCC can positively impact someone’s life.
“Starting my journey at SCC and now as a physician at CMC helping to provide opportunities for other students wanting to go into the medical field, it makes me very proud!” he said. “Hopefully, this scholarship will give students an opportunity they might not otherwise have and will also inspire them to stay local too.”
Palmer remarked that their dedicated staff at CMC served as inspiration to them in establishing the scholarship at the College. With strong local ties to both SCC and Sampson County, he mentioned that their team truly fueled the practice’s desire to support education and student success at SCC.
He expressed, “Our team truly inspires this. They create such a feeling of unity and have such strong local and Sampson Community College ties. This scholarship is an extension of that.”
Echoing the thoughts of his colleagues, Matt Robinson, Practice Administrator at CMC, hopes the new scholarship will ease financial burden and encourage more SCC students to pursue careers in healthcare related fields. This scholarship, in Robinson’s eyes, is CMC’s way to, “formally give back to an entity that has had such a positive impact on the success of the clinic over the years.”
“We currently have over thirty-five nursing staff that have come through the LPN or Medical Assistant programs at Sampson Community College,” he explained. “That number doesn’t even include the business office, lab staff, and Providers with ties to SCC. We could not even begin to count the number of current and former staff that have come through Sampson Community college in our fifty-three-year history. We are hopeful this assistance will help ease financial burden and encourage more SCC students to pursue tracks in healthcare related fields.”
Sampson CC extends their gratitude to Clinton Medical Clinic for investing in the lives of students through a Foundation scholarship award. The College is thankful for community partnerships such as this and looks forward to seeing all the scholarship will do to assist healthcare students.
“We are pleased to expand the College’s long-standing partnership with the Clinton Medical Clinic through this scholarship,” Lisa Turlington, Dean of Advancement & Executive Director of the Foundation shared. “It’s also an opportunity for community members to contribute with honorarium or memorial gifts celebrating current or past providers with CMC.”
For more information about the SCC Foundation or how to give, visit www.sampsoncc.edu/foundation.
To apply for 2024-2025 scholarships, visit www.sampsoncc.edu/scholarships
About Sampson Community College: Sampson Community College is a member of the North Carolina Community College System, located in Clinton, NC in Sampson County. The college offers many programs to include two-year degrees, college transfer, continuing education and workforce development options and early college education. SCC is committed to the principles of equal educational and employment opportunities for all.
