AUGUSTA — Amanda-Justine Brooks, a certified nurse’s assistant medication technician at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center’s d’Youville Pavilion, recently received a 2016 scholarship from the Mike McNeil Scholarship Fund.

Brooks is one of eight scholarship recipients this year. She is attending the Maine College of Health Professions, where she studies nursing.

The fund is administered by the Maine Health Care Association and offers scholarships for individuals affiliated with Maine’s long-term care facilities.

To be eligible for the program, candidates pursuing postsecondary education must be an employee, immediate family member of an employee, or a volunteer affiliated with an MHCA-member nursing home or assisted living facility. Eligible fields of study include nursing, physical or occupational therapy, speech pathology, social work, activities and food service. Applicants must submit a comprehensive application, including a biography, essays and sealed letters of reference. Above all, applicants must demonstrate their future commitment to the long-term care community.

The Mike McNeil Scholarship Fund is named in honor of McNeil, a co-founding principal of the certified public accounting and financial management firm BerryDunn. Created by MHCA in conjunction with BerryDunn, the fund was established to commemorate McNiel’s retirement, after 30 years of providing financial expertise and counsel to Maine’s long-term care facilities.

Since its inception in 2007, the fund has helped 90 individuals to pursue their educational goals.