Desert Valley Hospital Foundation in Victorville, CA continues to help students who wish to pursue a career in healthcare but require financial aid in order to pursue their education. Desert Valley Hospital is part of the Prime Healthcare Services (PHS) hospital network which currently operates 14 facilities throughout California. PHS was recently recognized as a Top Ten Health Network by Reuters.

An awards ceremony was held recently at Victorville Conference Center attended by the renowned High Desert philanthropist, Dr. Prem Reddy.

The same day Ryan Rodriguez found out state budget cuts had cost him $6,000 in grants from the University of California, Irvine for the coming school year, he got a welcome bit of good news.

Rodriguez, who aims to become a combat rescuer with the U.S. Air Force, learned he’s one of 58 local students to receive between $1,000 and $5,000 in scholarships through the Desert Valley Charitable Foundation.

“I’m still going to have to take out some loans, but this is going to help a lot,” according to Rodriguez. .

Desert Valley Hospital’s foundation awards $100,000 in scholarships each year to local students pursuing a medical or health-care career. The amount each recipient received this year was based on the student’s financial situation and which school he or she attends.