By providing scholarships for advanced practice nursing, Milton Wiskind and his late wife, Edith (below), support the compassionate delivery of clinical excellence at the heart of Summa’s commitment to patient care.

Supporting nursing excellence

Christina Merchant, RN, is the first person in her family to graduate from college. Because of the generosity of Milton Wiskind and his late wife, Edith, she also is the first in her family to hold an advanced degree as a nurse practitioner in geriatrics from Kent State University.

Mrs. Merchant wrote regularly to the Wiskinds before and after each semester to let them know how she was doing, a correspondence that endeared her to Mrs. Wiskind, a former English teacher who passed away in April 2014. Mrs. Merchant continues her correspondence with Mr. Wiskind.

In her delivery of clinical excellence, Mrs. Merchant exemplifies the ideals at the heart of Magnet status nursing, the ultimate credential for high-quality nursing conferred by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. “When I’m with a patient,” she said, “I’m always asking myself, ‘How would my mother or my grandmother like to be treated?’”

“With the changes ahead in healthcare, more nurses will be needed to provide advanced care,” said Mr. Wiskind, a retired business executive at Akron’s Myers Industries. Summa’s Magnet® status for nurses -- a credential held by only 7 percent of hospitals nationwide -- was one of the reasons he chose Summa’s nurses as the beneficiaries of the couple’s philanthropy.