Billings, Montana, July 22, 2008 - The St. Vincent Healthcare Foundation is pleased to announce Breanna Barger as the 2008 recipient of the Dr. Thomas R. Johnson Medical Scholarship. Breanna grew up on the Flathead Indian Reservation, where she says she watched first hand, “how poverty can affect people’s health and devastate their sense of security.” Her passion and conviction to make a difference grew as she watched friends and neighbors in the region deal with poverty and complex social problems.
Breanna, an expanded fourth year medical student at the University of Washington, completed this summer a year out research rotation at the Malaria Research Training Center in Barnaki, Mali. (West Africa) She relates the health care issues in Mali in some ways, to those here in Montana where lack of access and resources affect those who live in both places. She has a strong commitment to the underserved and plans to pursue a career in either family or internal medicine. Breanna Barger remains true to her roots and plans to return to a rural area to practice medicine.
Breanna lives the spirit behind the Dr. Thomas R. Johnson Medical Scholarship-
This scholarship is named after the late Dr. Johnson who practiced medicine across the Billings region for many years. Committed to orthopedics as well as rural medicine, Dr. Johnson is a medical legend. Dr. Johnson faced an untimely death in 2007. His parents, Dr. Ray and Nell Johnson were the center of medical care in the Harlowton area for decades and Tom honored their work by retaining a focus on rural patients by holding clinics throughout the region.
Judy Johnson, Dr. Johnson’s widow says:
“Breanna Barger’s passion for people runs deep. She not only cares about people’s health from a technical perspective but also values the integral relationship between health, culture, and community. In Breanna’s diverse experience, she has learned valuable lessons about the challenges of rural health care. The fact that she is also learning how to overcome those challenges, even in the most difficult situations, is also a tremendous feat. My husband Tom and his parents, Ray and Nell, would be proud to help this fine young emerging physician.”
Breanna Barger will receive $7,500 to further her education.