EHM Senior Solutions, Foundation Announce Scholarship Winners

EHM Senior Solutions and EHM Foundation, based in Saline, Mich., announced recently its most recent scholarship recipients. All three awardees are current employees of EHM Senior Solutions.

Nursing students Nija Hamilton and Amanda Gonia received Denise B. Rabidoux Nursing Scholarships in the amount of $1,000. Ed Godin, an EHM Case Manager, received the Helen E. Baron Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $1,500.

The Rabidoux scholarship is named in honor of former EHM President and CEO Denise B. Rabidoux. The scholarship is sponsored by Lauralee Lutz in memory of her parents and in honor of the Evangelical Home nurses who provided care for them. Lutz says that the scholarship supports persons entering the field of nursing, a profession she values and holds dear to her heart.

For more than 10 years, Nija Hamilton has taken care of residents and patients at EHM Senior Solutions (EHM). Early on in her career, Hamilton’s peers saw in her the makings of a compassionate and caring nurse.  

“I first began as a personal assistant, working as both a caregiver and med-passer at the Memory Support Center in 2010,” says Hamilton. “Shortly after, I was motivated by several team members and nurses to return to school to pursue a nursing degree.”

Currently a program scheduling specialist for EHM’s Shared Care Services, Hamilton has held several positions within EHM and has continued to take nursing courses when possible. Re-energized to finish her degree in nursing, Hamilton applied for the Rabidoux scholarship to continue her journey to becoming a licensed nurse. 

“I am delighted that I can plan to return to a designated academic program again this year,” says Hamilton. “As a dedicated EHM employee for SCS, I anticipate that upon the completion of the nursing program, I could also work in that capacity for EHM.”

Currently the discharge planner at EHM’s Redies Center, Amanda Gonia knew in high school that she wanted to be a nurse.

“Nurses are the ones that get to spend time with the patient,” says Gonia. “They get to know their patients. Nurses are the first one in the room and the last one to leave. When things go awry, nurses are the first to notice. All I knew is I wanted to be that person for my patients.”

Gonia joined the EHM Senior Solutions family five years ago as a CNA. As her passion flourished, she attended nursing school and earned her LPN license. “I love my residents,” she says. “They are like family to me.”

With plans to continue her education in nursing, Gonia applied for the scholarship. “I would like to advance my career by pursing a registered nurse degree, then BSN, and reaching my ultimate goal of NP (Nurse Practitioner psych),” says Gonia. “With my NP psych, I would like to focus on dementia patients.”

The Baron scholarship is funded through a gift from James and Kenneth Baron in recognition for the exceptional care that their mother, Helen Baron, received at the Evangelical Homes.

Having been a RN for more than 27 years, Ed Godin continues to find ways to expand his skills in caring for the homebound patients. Currently working with Shared Services Home Health Care, Ed applied for the Baron scholarship in order to pursue wound ostomy certification.

“I have always had a great interest in wound care, and have treated hundreds in my 27 years as an RN,” says Godin. His experience in wound care spans his time at the Burn ICU at Detroit Receiving Hospital to the many years he has treated patients in their homes.

In Godin’s estimation, there are few, if any other, home health care providers who can offer this level of assistance to patients in their home. “It would improve the outcomes for the patients I case manage,” he adds.