VGCC Scholarship established in memory of nurse Priscilla Brooks
A new scholarship is being established at Vance-Granville Community College in memory of Priscilla Brooks, a longtime licensed practical nurse in Granville County. Brooks passed away suddenly on Jan. 13, 2016, at age 75.
“Priscilla was a great nurse and a problem-solver, inside and outside of the doctor’s office,” said John W. Watson, Jr., an attorney and the son of one of the doctors for whom Brooks worked. “More than anything, Priscilla enjoyed connecting with the people around her, whether they were patients, Duke medical students or the young nurses who attended to her in later days.”
Friends and family members established a memorial scholarship fund after her death and have collected more than $4,000. More contributions are needed to fully fund the scholarship, so that the college will be able to award it to students regularly. The ultimate goal is to raise $50,000, and an anonymous donor has pledged to match $5,000 in new contributions. The new scholarship is intended to assist VGCC Nursing students.
“Priscilla’s desire for nursing became evident early in life,” according to Ella Schmit of Oxford, one of Brooks’s three younger sisters. “One day, a large open truck carrying a troop of Boy Scouts accidentally turned upside down in front of her home and threw children all over the front yard, up and down the highway…. Priscilla and her mom ran out the door and Priscilla, at only 13 years old, immediately ran from one child to the next, helping them and treating them as best she could. It was apparent even then that she was a real nurse at heart.”
Determined to become a nurse, Brooks graduated from Stem High School with honors and went on to the Mary Elizabeth Hospital School of Nursing in Raleigh. She worked at a couple of hospitals, finally going to work for Doctors Watson and Tarry in Oxford. “She stayed with them for years, and she always called them ‘her’ doctors,” Schmit said. “When Dr. Watson retired, Dr. Eugene Day took over his practice. Priscilla continued to work for Dr. Day. She adored him and continued to give from her heart. She cared for her patients and doctors.” Patients, meanwhile, sometimes considered Brooks to be “one of the doctors,” Schmit recalled.
Brooks eventually retired after more than 40 years in nursing, but kept helping people all the way to the end, Schmit recalled. She was always caring and showing concern for people outside of the doctor’s office, tending to the sick in their homes. “She helped people stricken with Alzheimer’s to be able to stay at home as long as possible and assisted the elderly, making sure their medicines were correct, that they had proper nutrition, and that they felt safe,” Schmit said. She also loved to help children, who, like her family, called her “P” for short. “Priscilla wanted to make a difference in the world, and she truly did,” her sister said. “She was a confidant to so many people, and I am proud to call her my sister.” Brooks left behind a daughter, Lisa Jones, who resembles her mother in her appearance and in her compassionate heart, Schmit added.
“This scholarship will be a lasting way to honor and remember Priscilla’s incredible legacy of compassion and excellence in health care, and it will help VGCC Nursing students to follow in her footsteps,” said VGCC Endowment Director Eddie Ferguson.
Through the Endowment Fund, VGCC has awarded more than 8,500 scholarships to students since 1982. Scholarships have been endowed by numerous individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Endowment Fund have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business or industry with a lasting gift to education.
For more information or to make a contribution to help fully endow this scholarship, call Kay Currin at (252) 738-3409. Contributions may be mailed to the Vance-Granville Community College Endowment Fund at P.O. Box 917, Henderson, NC 27536.
Granville Sheriff’s Office asks for your help in convict escape
The Granville Sheriff’s Office is seeking assistance in locating Stephen Royster Hicks, DOB 11/5/80. Stephen Royster Hicks escaped custody while attending court at the Granville County Courthouse. Hicks is currently serving time for three counts of Larceny of Motor Vehicle, Assault and Battery with the DOAC in the Caswell Correctional Center in Blanch, NC. He is also facing a future sentence of 15 years for a 2015 Burlington Bank Robbery.
Stephen Royster Hicks was last seen driving a 2013 Mustang GT Royal Blue in color. Possibly still in the local area. Granville County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Hicks’ younger brother, Thomas Hicks, for assisting in the escape. Please notify the Granville County Sheriff’s Office at 919-693-3213 or Granville County Crimestoppers 919-693-3100.
H/V Chamber Hosts Ribbon Cutting for Maria Parham’s New Wound Center
The Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce celebrated the opening of The Advanced Wound Center’s new location with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, July 14 at 4:30pm at their Ruin Creek Road location. “This is only one of more ribbon cuttings to come,” said Brian Sinotte, CEO, Maria Parham Medical Center.
Dr. Joseph Franklin, Medical Director, made remarks about the new advanced technology of the center and that his overall goal is to bring care to those that can’t go to larger healthcare facilities. Remarks were also made by other representatives from the hospital, city, county and state officials about The Advanced Wound Center and how MPMC continues to grow and serve the needs of the community and surrounding areas.
At MPMC Advanced Wound Center, their team of providers help individuals struggling with wounds get on the fast track to recovery by managing their persistent wounds and ulcers with the latest technology and treatments. In just the last five years, The Advanced Wound Center has had over 20,000 visits.
The new center offers two chambers for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), an advanced therapy for patients who suffer from chronic wounds that are not responding to traditional therapies. Patients are placed in a pressurized chamber where they breathe 100 percent oxygen. The treatment delivers more oxygen to the body’s tissues, helping to heal wounds, save limbs and repair extensive tissue or bone damage.
It is a pain free approach to treating more than a dozen medical conditions and is approved by Medicare to treat patients with a variety of medical conditions.
For more information, please contact them at 252-436-1700
High School students explore health and science at two VGCC campuses
High school students from across the region recently attended “Mini-Medical School” camps organized by the Wake Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in partnership with Vance-Granville Community College. The camp was held first in June at VGCC’s South Campus, located between Butner and Creedmoor, and in July at the college’s Franklin County Campus, just outside Louisburg. Between the two locations, 44 students completed the program.
This was the college’s third summer partnering with Wake AHEC on the Mini-Medical School, which is an intensive, week-long day camp that uses computational science (computer simulation) and hands-on activities to study key aspects of medicine.
Students learned about topics that included anatomy and physiology, bioprocessing, biochemistry, pharmacology, cardiology, epidemiology, medical genetics and genomics. The course was taught primarily by Becky Brady, a registered nurse and chemical engineer. VGCC Bioprocess Technology program head/instructor Dr. Tara Hamilton also taught a session at each camp.
Faculty members from VGCC programs that prepare students for health-related careers — including Nursing, Medical Assisting, Radiography, Pharmacy Technology, Human Services Technology, and the college’s newest program, Histotechnology — gave students information about academic pathways and employment prospects and conducted hands-on activities on the last day of the camp.
Students not only had a chance to learn about careers and hone their science skills, but they also became certified in CPR and Youth Mental Health First Aid during the course of the program.
The students who completed the school at South Campus included Naim Bell and Sai Dasari, both of Apex Friendship High School; Koen Winemiller and Kiran Winemiller, both of Cary Academy; Gracie Athus of Cary Christian School; Sarah Flexman of Cary High School; Britney Dyck, a home-schooled student from Cary; Leah Paul, a recent graduate of Crossroads Christian School in Henderson; Saarika Virkar of Enloe High School in Raleigh; Sarah Doherty and Ellie Smith, both of Holly Springs High School; Tanay Singhal of the N.C. School of Science and Math; Jordan Bell of North Raleigh Christian Academy; Sri Rayarao of Panther Creek High School in Cary; LeAnn Black and Hannah Bonini, both of South Granville High School; Riley Valencia of Southern Wake Academy in Holly Springs; Aryan Jain of Wake Early College of Health & Sciences; Samaria Lynch and Javia Wilson, both of Warren County High School; Mariam Assaedi of J.F. Webb School of Health & Life Sciences in Oxford; and Rose Vaughan of Woods Charter School in Chapel Hill.
Those who completed the program at Franklin Campus included Edin Medrano and Iris Medrano, both home-schooled students from Creedmoor; Karson Turner of Enloe High School in Raleigh; Rachel Hortman, a recent graduate of Fuquay-Varina High School; Yvon’ne Lyle of Garner High School; Saikiran Devanga Chinta of Green Hope High School in Cary; Jacob Harris of Henderson Collegiate School; Sascha Anderson of Vernon Malone College and Career Academy; Autumn Boone of Middle Creek High School in Apex; Lizzie Leegins and Jillian Radford, both of North Johnston High School; Caroline Pruitt of Sanderson High School in Raleigh; Sabrina Bedard, Nadia Hodges and Amanda McPhatter, both home-schooled students from Wake Forest; Sarah Bryant, Victoria Michel and Malik Pettis, all of Wake Forest High School; Kendall Smith and Brandon Yarborough, both of Wake Young Men’s Leadership Academy; Parker Stantz of Wakefield High School; and Bryson Vick of Warren County High School.
Wake AHEC serves nine counties in central North Carolina from its office in Raleigh: Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Lee, Person, Vance, Wake, and Warren counties. AHECs are located throughout North Carolina and are affiliated with the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Program at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill School of Medicine. The mission of the statewide AHEC Program is to meet the state’s health and health workforce needs. NC AHEC provides educational programs and services that bridge academic institutions and communities to improve the health of the people of North Carolina with a focus on underserved populations.
UNC-Chapel Hill will submit and release NCAA response Aug. 1, 2
(Chapel Hill, N.C. – July 22, 2016) – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will respond to the NCAA’s amended notice of allegations on Aug. 1 and post a public copy Aug. 2 on the Carolina Commitment website after a review to protect privacy rights.
The University and other involved parties requested the one-week change this week. The NCAA permits requests for additional time to respond to allegations.
This schedule does not reflect any new information, and the amended notice of allegations the NCAA sent on April 25 has not changed.
For more information, refer to https://carolinacommitment.unc.edu/updates/.
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About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 77 bachelor’s, 113 master’s, 68 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty – including two Nobel laureates – staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 308,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 150 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.
Issued by: Rick White, Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications and Public Affairs;
Communications and Public Affairs Contact: (919) 445-8555, mediarelations@unc.edu
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