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

*PacifiCare's Latino Health Scholars Program to Award 70 Scholarships

* The PacifiCare Freedom Award: Two $25,000 Scholarships Also Available

CYPRESS, Calif., March 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Seventy $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, the philanthropic arm of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. (NYSE: PHS), are offered on behalf of PacifiCare's Latino Health Scholars program designed to 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 an accredited technical college and must be enrolled in an approved health care program at the time they receive the scholarship. Applications are due June 30, 2005, and are available online at PacifiCare en Espanol, http://www.pacificarelatino.com, and PacifiCare Health Systems' Web site, http://www.pacificare.com.

"According to the Office of Minority Health, there is a nationwide shortage of bilingual and bicultural professionals in the health care field, leaving many Latinos without access to culturally and linguistically appropriate care," said Russell Bennett, PacifiCare's vice president of Latino Health Solutions. "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. Studies also show that patients respond better when care instructions are delivered in their own language and their cultural
background is taken into account."

For 2005, PacifiCare has expanded its Latino Health Scholars program to include -- in addition to the seventy (70) $2,000 scholarships -- two PacifiCare Freedom Awards in the amount of $25,000 each for the two most deserving and qualified applicants. Announced in February, the PacifiCare Freedom Award was established to recognize individuals and organizations that have demonstrated tremendous sacrifice and commitment to make a positive difference in their communities.

The award was inspired by the heroic actions of U.S. Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta who was killed last November by enemy action in Iraq. Fighting in Falluja alongside his fellow marines, Peralta, wounded by gunshots, reached out for a grenade that was hurled by an insurgent and cradled it to his body to protect others from the blast. His heroism saved the lives of five Marines.

"This year, we would like to dedicate the inaugural PacifiCare Freedom Award on behalf of Sgt. Peralta and all of the men and women of the armed forces who have given their lives to promote freedom and liberty throughout the world," said Howard Phanstiel, PacifiCare's chairman and chief executive officer. "Through the Latino Health Scholars program, we are looking for students who share the kinds of qualities exemplified by Sgt. Peralta, and who demonstrate the values we cherish at PacifiCare to make people's lives better."

PacifiCare will announce the scholarships at the National Hispanic Medical Association's (NHMA) ninth annual conference, "Medical Practice for the 21st Century: Enhancing Quality Care and Health Literacy," March 31-April 3 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Established in Washington, D.C., in 1994, the NMHA is a bilingual, bicultural organization that represents 36,000 licensed Hispanic physicians in the United States. The mission of the organization is to improve the health of Latinos and other underserved populations by expanding access to quality health care and increasing opportunities in medical education, cultural competence and research for Latinos. More information on the NHMA is available online at http://www.nhmamd.org.

"We applaud PacifiCare's commitment to help pave the way for the next generation of Hispanic health care professionals," said Elena Rios, M.D., president and CEO of NHMA. "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. "It is this spirit of giving that is reflected in PacifiCare's theme, 'Caring is good. Doing something is better.' 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." Last September, PacifiCare awarded 50 scholarships to students pursuing diverse health care careers such as Nursing, Biology, Psychology and Molecular Genetics.

SCHOLARSHIP FOR HISPANIC SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS

The New Jersey Mental Health Institute, Inc. is accepting applications for the Hispanic Higher Education Scholarship Fund. Those eligible are bilingual individuals of Hispanic background who are interested in pursuing a Master's degree in social work from a university based in New Jersey, beginning in the fall of 2005.

Also eligible are graduate students returning to such a program.

The deadline to apply is April 8, 2005.

Visit http://www.njmhi.org/ for information.

It's that time again. Available Scholarships - Need More Minorities to Apply. Even if you do not have a college-aged child at home, please share this with someone who does. Though there are a number of companies and organizations that have donated money for scholarship use to minorities, a great deal of the money is being returned because of a lack of interest. Help to get the word out that money is available. Our youth really could use these scholarships. If clicking on the link doesn't work try pressing the CTRL key while clicking. If this doesn't work you will have to type in the Web site address manually or cut and paste.

 1) BELL LABS FELLOWSHIPS FOR UNDER REPRESENTED MINORITIES

http://www.bell-labs.com/fellowships/CRFP/info.html

2) Student Inventors Scholarships http://www.invent.org/collegiate/

3) Student Video Scholarships

http://www.christophers.org/vidcon2k.html

4) Coca-Cola Two Year College Scholarships

http://www.coca-colascholars.org/programs.html

5) Holocaust Remembrance Scholarships http://holocaust.hklaw.com/

6) Ayn Rand Essay Scholarships http://www.aynrand.org/contests/

7) Brand Essay Competition

http://www.instituteforbrandleadership.org/IBLEssayContest-2002Rules.html

8) Gates Millennium Scholarships (major)

http://www.gmsp.org/nominationmaterials/read.dbm?ID=12

9) Xerox Scholarships for Students

http://www2.xerox.com/go/xrx/about_xerox/about_xerox_detail.jsp

10) Sports Scholarships and Internships

http://www.ncaa.org/about/scholarships.html

11) National Assoc. of Black Journalists Scholarships (NABJ)

http://www.nabj.org/html/studentsvcs.html

12) Saul T. Wilson Scholarships (Veterinary)

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/mb/mrphr/jobs/stw.html

13) Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund

http://www.thurgoodmarshallfund.org/sk_v6.cfm

14) FinAid: The Smart Students Guide to Financial Aid scholarships

http://www.finaid.org/

15) Presidential Freedom Scholarships

http://www.nationalservice.org/scholarships/

16) Microsoft Scholarship Program

http://www.microsoft.com/college/scholarships/minority.asp

17) WiredScholar Free Scholarship Search

http://www.wiredscholar.com/paying/scholarship_search/pay_scholarship_search.jsp

18) Hope Scholarships & Lifetime Credits

http://www.ed.gov/inits/hope/

19) William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship for Minority Students

http://www.apsanet.org/PS/grants/aspen3.cfm

20) Multiple List of Minority Scholarships

http://gehon.ir.miami.edu/financial-assistance/Scholarship/black.html

21) Guaranteed Scholarships http://www.guaranteed-scholarships.com/

22) BOEING scholarships (some HBCU connects)

http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/educationrelations/scholarships

23) Easley National Scholarship Program

http://www.naas.org/senior.htm

24) Maryland Artists Scholarships http://www.maef.org/

26) Jacki Tuckfield Memorial Graduate Business Scholarship (for AA

students in South Florida) http://www.jackituckfield.org/

27) Historically Black College & University Scholarships

http://www.iesabroad.org/info/hbcu.htm

28) Actuarial Scholarships for Minority Students

http://www.beanactuary.org/minority/scholarships.htm

29) International Students Scholarships & Aid Help

http://www.iefa.org/

30) College Board Scholarship Search

http://cbweb10p.collegeboard.org/fundfinder/html/fundfind01.html

31) Burger King Scholarship Program http://www.bkscholars.csfa.org/

32) Siemens Westinghouse Competition

http://www.siemens-foundation.org/

33) GE and LuLac Scholarship Funds

http://www.lulac.org/Programs/Scholar.html

34) CollegeNet's Scholarship Database

http://mach25.collegenet.com/cgi-bin/M25/index

35) Union Sponsored Scholarships and Aid

http://www.aflcio.org/scholarships/scholar.htm

36) Federal Scholarships & Aid Gateways 25 Scholarship Gateways from

Black Excel http://www.blackexcel.org/25scholarships.htm

37) Scholarship & Financial Aid Help

http://www.blackexcel.org/fin-sch.htm

38) Scholarship Links (Ed Finance Group)

http://www.efg.net/link_scholarship.htm

39) FAFSA On The Web (Your Key Aid Form & Info)

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

40) Aid & Resources For Re-Entry Students

http://www.back2college.com/

41) Scholarships and Fellowships

http://www.osc.cuny.edu/sep/links.html

42) Scholarships for Study in Paralegal Studies

http://www.paralegals.org/Choice/2000west.htm

43) HBCU Packard Sit Abroad Scholarships (for study around the world)

http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/packard_nomination.html

44) Scholarship and Fellowship Opportunities

http://ccmi.uchicago.edu/schl1.html

45) INROADS internships http://www.inroads.org/

46) ACT-SO bEURoe "Olympics of the Mind" B Scholarships

http://www.naacp.org/work/actso/act-so.shtml

47) Black Alliance for Educational Options Scholarships

http://www.baeo.org/options/privatelyfinanced.jsp

48) ScienceNet Scholarship Listing

http://www.sciencenet.emory.edu/undergrad/scholarships.html

49) Graduate Fellowships For Minorities Nationwide

http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/GRFN/list.phtml?category=MINORITIES

50) RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS AT OXFORD

http://www.rhodesscholar.org/info.html

51) The Roothbert Scholarship Fund http://www.roothbertfund.org/schol