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DHS holds Blessing of the Bricks, garden dedication

The Inter-Mountain photo by Haley Gordon Dina Andrews, the Davis Medical Center Chaplain, speaks during the dedication of a Serenity Garden at DMC this week.

ELKINS — The Davis Health System Foundation hosted a Blessing of the Bricks ceremony at the Davis House this week, followed by a dedication of a new space that will be transformed into a Serenity Garden for patients, guests and staff.

This week marked the seven-year anniversary of the Davis House. The facility opened next to Davis Medical Center in 2012, and provides shelter for families of patients being treated by the health system.

Over the past seven years, the house has provided more than 6,000 nights of lodging to more than 1,000 patients and families.

Mike Bell, DHS executive director said it is very important for patients’ families “to have a home away from home that’s comfortable and comforting.”

Soon after the house opened, Legacy Lane was added to commemorate those loved and lost to cancer. This area also “offers respite, reflection and renewal” to those who stay in the house, Bell said.

Families can purchase bricks to add to Legacy Lane each year, and these bricks are inscribed with the names of their loved ones. All of the money made from the sale of these bricks goes back to providing for the families and patients who stay in the house.

Jennie Raines, executive assistant for DHS, read the names of those memorialized this year to honor them at the ceremony, as well as thanking the families who purchased the bricks.

After the bricks were laid, everyone was invited across the street to the site of the Serenity Garden that is being built outside of DMC.

The idea for the Serenity Garden came from a patient who spoke with Dina Andrews, the DMC chaplain. That patient had mentioned, “I really just wish there was someplace to sit.” After that suggestion, Patricia Mayes, president of the Emma Scott Garden Club, took charge.

“About a year ago, just this casual conversation,” said Mayes about the birth of the idea. She said the Garden Club loved the proposal and came up with a design for a space where people can leave the hospital and “really get away from the stress.”

DHS officials approved the plans the Garden Club drew up and construction has begun. Walkways are already being put in place, and art is being commissioned to spruce up the garden, which may be completed in the spring.

“You always find peace and comfort in a garden,” said Mayes.

Andrews shared a blessing for both the gardeners and the garden at the end of the ceremony.

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