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ARHS’ Foley Center at Chestnut Ridge Donates Materials to WHS Nursing Program

 

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A ‘patient’ at WHS enjoys the comfort of a newly stocked hospital room.

The nursing program at Watauga High School has a tradition of high achievement, turning out students with the toolset required to embark into the challenging and exceedingly important field of medicine.

But the equipment required to expose these students to the constantly evolving world of up-to-date medical technology can be expensive – often prohibitively so.

Through a generous donation last week, the Blowing Rock Rehabilitation and Davant Extended Care Center — now called The Foley Center at Chestnut Ridge — brought Watauga High School nursing classrooms one step closer to their goal of stocking the program with the best possible equipment.

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Students from Paula Dykes’ class supervise the delivery of materials donated by the Foley Center.

The Foley Center donated a list of items to Watauga County Schools including a patient bed, a bedside chair, two reclining chairs, three metal over-bed tables, three wooden over-bed tables, two wheel chairs, three walkers, a Welch Allyn IVAC machine that measures blood pressure heart rate, etc., three bed pillows and a bedside table.

WHS Career and Technical Education Coordinator Tierra Stark said the donation was well-timed, as the program would soon would have had to replace its existing IVAC machines, requiring an investment of more than $5,000.

“Watauga is the type of community where education thrives — where past teachers are still dedicated to the school and students, where partners to the school value educational resources, and where district personnel provide means and support. To everyone involved in maintaining our nursing simulation lab: thank you,” Stark said.

Nursing Aide teacher Paula Dykes said her students were very excited to have received the donation and had been working hard to sterilize and set-up the equipment.

In total, a team of seven was required to offload the delivery of equipment to the high school.

Watauga County Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Elliott offered his thanks to Foley Center for their donation.

“Support from community partners like the Foley Center is vital to our ongoing dedication to provide our students with up-to-date, modern facilities,” Elliott said. “Their donation represents an investment – not only in our schools, but in the future of our community. We are very grateful.”