Kacey Swisher received the 2021 Carolyn M. Butterfield Trust Nursing Scholarship awarded by the Taylorville Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Swisher was awarded $1,000.

Swisher is a student at Illinois College majoring in nursing and health sciences. She is an honors student and a member of the women’s soccer team.

Swisher earned her CNA certification while she was a senior at Pana High School. She gained on-the-job experience as a CNA at Heritage Health in Pana.

Swisher aspires to a career as an obstetrician. She is the daughter of Bryan and Jennifer Swisher of Tower Hill.

As a charter member of the St. Vincent Memorial Hospital Foundation, Carolyn Butterfield understood the importance of a rural hospital, according to Raedena Ryan, executive director of the Taylorville Memorial Hospital Foundation. Through her trust, Butterfield provided an endowment funding annual scholarships. It was her wish to assist financially Christian County students pursuing a career in health care, especially in the field of nursing.

“Her hope was to help reverse the shortage of these professionals in our service area,” Ryan said.

The application deadline for the 2022 Carolyn M. Butterfield Trust Nursing Scholarship is April 1.  The application is available on the Taylorville Memorial Hospital’s website at TaylorvilleMemorial.org/Foundation.

The foundation is a nonprofit, incorporated as a 501(c)(3). Organized in 1995, the foundation supports Taylorville Memorial Hospital’s mission to improve the health of the people and communities it serves.