Scholarships Available for Bilingual, Bicultural Students Pursuing Careers in Health Care

CYPRESS, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventy-five $2,000 scholarships are available for Spanish-speaking, bicultural high-school students who want to pursue careers in the health care industry.

The scholarships, funded by the PacifiCare Foundation, are offered on behalf of the UnitedHealthcare Latino Health Scholars program, which helps educate and encourage Hispanic and Latino students to pursue career opportunities in health care.

High-school seniors with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 and who are fluent in Spanish and English are eligible. Applicants must show proof of acceptance into a university, community college or accredited technical college and must be enrolled in an approved health care program at the time they receive the scholarship. Applications are due May 29, 2006, and are available online at http://www.pacificarelatino.com/.

"The Office of Minority Health cites a nationwide shortage of bilingual and bicultural health care professionals and calls for improvements in recruiting and retaining minority students into health care professions," said Russell Bennett, vice president of Latino Health Solutions at UnitedHealthcare. "For example, in the nursing field, a recent policy report by the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing states that the proportion of Latino nursing students continues to lag behind the number of Latinos in the population.

"Nationwide, many Latinos do not have access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care, and this has a far-reaching effect on their health and quality of life," Bennett added. "Studies show that patients respond better when care instructions are delivered in their own language and their cultural background is taken into account."

Once again, the Latino Health Scholars program has been expanded to include -- in addition to the seventy-five (75) $2,000 scholarships -- two $25,000 Freedom Awards for the two most qualified applicants.

Since it was introduced in 2003, the Latino Health Scholars program has awarded $356,000 to 155 students across the country who are pursuing diverse health care careers such as Nursing, Pre-Med, Biology, Psychology, Biomedical Engineering and other allied health professions.

"We applaud UnitedHealthcare's commitment to help pave the way for the next generation of Hispanic health care professionals," said Elena Rios, M.D., president and chief executive officer of the National Hispanic Medical Association. "We believe the Latino Health Scholars program can inspire these students to succeed in school and pursue rewarding, fulfilling health care careers that will make a positive impact in their communities."

"We are encouraging our scholarship recipients to utilize their bilingual and bicultural skills and health care education by 'giving back' to their communities once they graduate," Bennett added. "We are doing our part in the community by enlisting the help of many of our employees who have volunteered to serve as ambassadors by visiting the high schools and assisting students interested in a career in health care."

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare (http://www.unitedhealthcare.com/) provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services, helping 24 million individual consumers nationwide achieve improved health and well-being through various health service systems. UnitedHealthcare arranges access to quality, affordable care with more than 500,000 physicians and care professionals and 4,600 hospitals across America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group , a diversified Fortune50 health and well-being company.