Dr. Dale Dedrick: Providing a Leg Up to Support Team Member Scholarships

Dr. Dale Dedrick, a retired orthopedic surgeon, 2012 Paralympic athlete, and Prairie Cottages resident at Chelsea Retirement Community, credits the tuition program where her father worked in helping her achieve her educational goals.  “I grew up in a family that couldn’t afford college tuition,” says Dale.  “The tuition program where my father worked allowed my two sisters and I to attend college and earn graduate degrees as well.”

Dale completed medical school at the University of Maryland and touched countless lives practicing medicine at the University of Michigan, doing patient care, surgery, and teaching as well as research in the area of osteoarthritis.  

“If I hadn’t gotten that boost up in my education, I might have taken a very bright mind and wasted it,” says Dale.  “I would not have had the opportunity to do such worthwhile work.”

Dale’s gratitude has led her to planning a gift to the UMRC & Porter Hills Foundation’s Team Member Scholarship program in her estate, and she hopes to encourage others to do the same. 

“Education is expensive, but it shouldn’t be a luxury that people can’t access,” says Dale.  “There are so many people at CRC who care for me every day, and I would love to see them get ahead.  Just knowing that support is available may be the push you need to go back to school and reach your goals.”

To learn more about the UMRC & Porter Hills Foundation’s Team Member Support Services program, visit: https://Foundation.UMRCPH.org/priority-fundraising-initiatives/