The Davis Community Receives $250,000 Bequest for Nursing Education

WILMINGTON, N.C. - May 9, 2013 - PRLog -- The Davis Community in Porters Neck announces the receipt today of a $250,000 gift from the North Carolina Community Foundation/Joseph Bergin and Elsa Flower Davies Fund to Promote Training in the Field of Nursing. Charles Earney, CPA and Trustee of the Davies Trust, presented the check to Charles Long, CEO, and Board Chair, Dr. Ben Barker.  Also accepting the gift were incoming board chair Dr. William McMillan, Director of Nursing Cindy Edgell, Nurse Educator, Demaree Temple and Community Relations Administrator Julie Rehder. The Davis Community serves as a teaching facility for Cape Fear Community College and UNCW nursing students and the Davis nursing staff undergoes rigorous continuing education.     The gift is especially important at this time as The Davis Community is undergoing a physical and cultural transformation from a medical model of care to a social model of care where the 199 nursing home and Rehabilitation Center residents will reside in ten households.  Funds from this gift will be used to support ongoing nursing education in current and emerging treatment modalities as well as to encourage additional certifications and credentialing for current and future nursing staff.     During their lifetimes the Davies were ardent supporters of The Davis Community and provided a previous gift of $250,000 to support the creation of a state of the art wellness center.  The Joseph B. and Elsa Flower Davies Wellness Center now boasts a membership of 260 and focuses its efforts on providing health and wellness programs for persons over the age of 55. The Davies were physically active well into their late 90s and attributed their longevity and mental acuity to exercise. They especially enjoyed riding their three wheel bicycles together.    Mr. Davies felt deeply about the importance of nursing, as a result of his own life experience.  As a young boy, Joe Davies suffered severe burns on one of his legs when his pants caught fire as he was jumping over a pile of burning leaves. Disfigured and in constant pain, doctors told him he would never walk again but undaunted his mother, Elaine Agnes Davies, a Registered Nurse, massaged his legs daily and encouraged ongoing exercise of his legs. Though the recovery was difficult and painful, Mr. Davies achieved his goal and was forever grateful for his mother’s skill as a nurse. Joe and Elsa never forgot the impact that a skilled and tenacious nurse possesses.     Built in 1966, The Davis Community at 1011 Porters Neck Road  is home to The Health Care Center, Champions Assisted Living Facility and The Rehabilitation and Wellness Pavilion. The Davis Community provides quality health, wellness and rehabilitation services to aging adults and is a not-for-profit corporation.    For more information, please contact Julie Rehder at 910-319-2140 or julier@thedaviscommunity.org