2017 Black River grad wins Lovell Health Career Award

Bailey Matteson, who graduated this year from Black River High School in Ludlow, is the seventh recipient of the Dr. E. Sherburne Lovell Health Career Award.

This award contributes $1,000 annually toward a student’s academic pursuit of a career in health care. It is funded by the proceeds of the Apple Blossom Cotillion, a project of the Development Office of Springfield Medical Care Systems.

Dr. Lovell was a long-time physician at Springfield Hospital who, according to his daughters Melissa Post and the late Elizabeth David, “never sought recognition for his service in the medical field or in the community.”

Matteson will be a health science major at Franklin Pierce University in the fall. She became interested in a career in health care when she attended the Southern Vermont Area Health Education Center MedQuest and Advanced MedQuest programs. Matteson’s long term plan is to complete college with a nursing degree, and hopefully work in Vermont.

Matteson’s mother and grandmother are both nurses who work together in the Operating Room at Springfield Hospital. They are currently the only mother/daughter team in Vermont and Matteson would love to join them as a third generation operating room nurse.

To be eligible for the award, students must live in one of the towns served by Springfield Medical Care Systems and attend AHEC’s MedQuest program. Application information for the Dr. E. Sherburne Lovell Health Career Award is available by contacting Southern Vermont AHEC at 802-885-2126 or info@svahec.org