Lilly Announces Recipients of the 2004 - 2005 Lilly Moving Lives Forward Reintegration Scholarship
August 30, 2004
Program helps people with bipolar, schizophrenia and related schizophrenia-spectrum disorders reintegrate into society
For the seventh straight year, Eli Lilly and Company has awarded scholarships to people with severe mental illness to help offset their tuition, books and lab fees for the 2004-2005 school year. Lilly announced today that 50 individuals have received Moving Lives Forward Reintegration Scholarships for the upcoming school year. The scholarship program is designed to help persons with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and related schizophrenia-spectrum disorders acquire the educational and vocational skills they need to move their lives forward and reintegrate into society.
"For many of us, the Lilly Scholarship provides the essential funding needed to pursue an education and thereby gain intellectual freedom," states Joseph Wleklinski, a four-time recipient of the annual scholarship who is in the combined Masters/Doctorates program in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "I truly believe that for someone like me with mental illness, education and working closely with my physician to achieve wellness are the foundation of reintegration into society."
"The goal of the Lilly Moving Lives Forward Reintegration Scholarship is to help people whose lives have been seriously interrupted by severe mental illness improve their prospects by providing education that is necessary for them to realize their full potential," explained Dr. John Lechleiter, Executive Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations, Eli Lilly and Company. "Since its inception in 1997, this program has assisted students in pursuing a wide range of educational opportunities - from Masters of Social Work to tradesman certificates. We're very proud of this program and these dedicated students."
Of the 50 recipients for the 2004-2005 school year, more than two-thirds (67 percent) are previous winners successfully continuing their education. An independent panel of judges made up of nine psychiatric care professionals chose the winners. Levels of study range from high school equivalency programs to graduate degrees, with the areas of endeavor including engineering, law, psychiatry, graphic design, social work, architecture, education and computer sciences. Winners are attending such schools as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Culinary Institute of America, Purdue University, California Institute of Technology, The University of Tennessee, and others. Since the program began in 1997, about 600 people have been awarded Reintegration Scholarships. Many are multi-year recipients, allowing them to continue and potentially complete their education.
"We want everyone to know that a diagnosis of severe mental illness no longer has to put an end to your hopes and dreams. Newer medications are helping to keep people in treatment and allowing them to focus on goals such as education, which previously seemed out of reach" said Ralph Aquila, M.D., director of residential community services at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York and chairman of the scholarship judging panel. "When we began this scholarship program seven years ago, we knew there were individuals battling mental illness who had the qualifications and skills to attend some of the finest learning institutions in the country. Today, we have proved that to be true - in fact, we have Lilly Scholarship recipients at some of the top schools in the nation."
About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Lilly provides answers - through medicines and information - for some of the world's most urgent medical needs. Additional information about Lilly is available at www.lilly.com.
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LillyAnswers ensures that low-income Medicare enrollees with the greatest need have complete access to the Lilly products they require. The centerpiece of the patient assistance program, the LillyAnswers card, allows seniors and people with disabilities under Medicare to pay a flat $12 fee for a 30-day supply of certain retail distributed Lilly drugs. Since Lilly implemented LillyAnswers in 2002, hundreds of thousands of people without prescription drug insurance have received more than a half million Lilly products. LillyAnswers enrollment applications are available by calling the toll-free number: 1-877-RX-LILLY (1-877-795-4559) or online at www.lillyanswers.com .