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Montgomery County Community College has received what it is calling a transformative donation to bolster its nursing program.
The gift — the amount of which is being kept confidential — is from Stuart Fine, the former CEO of Grand View Hospital in Sellersville, and his wife Sandra Fine.
In recognition of the donation, Montgomery County Community College has renamed its nursing program as the Dr. Stuart H. & Sandra K. Fine Nursing Program.
The school, which has its main campus in Blue Bell, will use the gift to create a nursing innovation fund and scholarship named after the Fines.
“Given the critical shortage of nurses and the significant role of this high-priority occupation, this substantial gift will help enable more students to successfully pursue their nursing degrees, ultimately contributing to the fulfillment of these crucial positions in healthcare," said Dr. Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez, president of Montgomery County Community College.
Bastecki-Perez said the gift will also allow the college to continue to be at the "forefront" of nursing education and ensure a "continuous pipeline" of skilled nurses.
The nursing program at Montgomery County Community College awards student registered nursing (RN) degrees and prepares them to take licensing exams to become practicing RNs. At its most recent graduation, 44 students received RN degrees.
In a statement provided by the college, Stuart and Sandra Fine said high-quality nursing care is essential to the functioning of the nation's health care delivery system.
"Montco's nursing program does a remarkable job of preparing caring, competent and compassionate nursing professionals without whom our region's hospitals and health systems would be unable to meet the needs of patients," the Fines said.
For the spring 2024 semester, Dr. Stuart H. & Sandra K. Fine Nursing scholarships have been awarded to Djazia Aissiouene, Grace Coombs, Maya Crockem, Nicole Erdmann and Kellie Sirianni.
Stuart Fine spent four decades in the health care industry. He led Grand View Hospital in Upper Bucks County for 25 years until his retirement in 2013. Prior to that, he was CEO at a North Carolina health system. Most recently, he served as associate professor and program director in health care management for Temple University's Fox School of Business and College of Public Health.
Sandra Fine also spent three decades working in health care administration at multiple health systems throughout the Philadelphia region — specializing in medical staff credentialing and graduate medical education. Prior to that, she spent six years as a public school teacher in Ohio, where she taught English.
