THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502030208
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Close-Up
SOURCE: Rebecca A. Myers
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines
It was an interview for a job she didn't want that first brought Sister Elaine Davia to Portsmouth.
Davia, a nun since 1964, came to the city because Oasis, a social ministry that provides assistance to the needy, needed a director to run its thrift shop, emergency food pantry and soup kitchen.
But Davia, a nurse practitioner, had hoped to find a job that would put her nursing skills to work.
So the two struck a deal.
Oasis had been toying for some time with the idea of starting a mobile health clinic for the indigent, but didn't know where to begin.
Davia, a nun with the Sisters of Bon Secours - a Roman Catholic community of women dedicated to health care service - had worked on a mobile health unit in Richmond, providing medical attention to residents of several rural neighborhoods.
It was a marriage made in heaven.
``I fell right into it,'' said Davia, 48. ``It was like a magnet. What they needed was what I do, and it was exactly what I wanted to do. So it worked out real nice.''
But instead of starting a mobile clinic, the decision was made to open a health care center in a wing of Martin Luther King United Methodist Church. Called the Elm Avenue Center for Health and nicknamed EACH, the center opened in June 1990.
``We probably see from 15 to 20 patients a day,'' said Davia, the center's director. ``Most of what we see are chronic illnesses - a lot of people with hypertension and diabetes. We also do a lot of routine prevention-type things like physical exams, routine pelvic exams, plus we see a lot of acute illnesses like colds.''
The center operates on an annual budget of about $70,000, which covers medicine, supplies, rent, phone, utilities, insurance, Davia's salary and a donation to the church where the center is located.
But the cost of medication is the center's largest ongoing and fastest growing expense, Davia said.
``We used to spend $200 or $300 a month for medication, and in the last year it's jumped to about $1,100 to $1,500 a month,'' she said. ``And that doesn't even count what we get in the way of samples and what we get from a lot of the drug companies that give us medications through their indigent drug programs.
``We'd probably be spending from $6,000 to $7,000 a month in medicine, but we get about $4,000 a month or so from drug companies through their indigent drug programs,'' said Davia. ``But over and above that, we still end up spending a large amount. That's where most of our money goes, toward medication.''
To supplement the center's budget, ``The Afternoon Tea'' fund-raiser was started last year.
``We made more than $2,300,'' Davia said. ``We had about 50 people who actually attended the tea, but we had a lot of people who made donations even though they couldn't come.''
This year's tea will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday at 412 West Road. The suggested donation, which is tax deductible, is $20. Davia's goal this year is $5,000.
Last week, Davia mailed about 600 invitations announcing the fund-raiser. She hopes at least 100 attend. In addition to refreshments, a different form of entertainment will be provided every half hour or so. For information about ``The Afternoon Tea,'' call 397-6955.
Name: Mary Elaine Davia (Sister Elaine)
Nickname: None
Neighborhood: Glensheallah
Number of years in Portsmouth: Five
Birthplace: Washington
Birthdate: Aug. 7, 1946
Occupation: Family nurse practitioner; director of the Elm Avenue Center for Health
What other job than your own would you like? None full time
Marital status: A member of the Sisters of Bon Secours, a Catholic religious congregation
Fondest childhood memory: Rides to the mountains and hiking on Sunday afternoons with my family
First concert: A German band at a circus in Heidelberg, Germany, about 1957
What song or book title best describes your life? ``Sing A Simple Song'' from Leonard Bernstein's ``The Mass''
If you won the lottery, what's the very first thing you'd buy? I would put some money in Portsmouth Medication Access Program.
If you could trade places for just one day with anyone in the world, who would it be and why? I would like to trade places with a French horn player in a professional orchestra or symphony just for the experience of playing there and to hear the good sound all around me.
Biggest accomplishment: Getting over my fear of speaking out in groups
Most embarrassing moment: I was at a formal social and a little nervous. I spent about 10 minutes talking with a couple of women. We broke up and moved around. A little later I went up to these same women and introduced myself again. One woman said, ``I know. We were just talking to you in the other room.''
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I wish my joints were younger and not feeling the effects of the aging process.
Perfect way to spend the day: This depends on the weather, who I'm with and where. I like to do many different things that make a day feel perfect: bike riding, making music, playing with my nephew, horseback riding, reading, visiting the ocean, watching good movies and on and on.
I can't resist: Ice cream, chocolate, listening to classical instrumental music
Favorite Portsmouth restaurant: The Commodore with a good movie
Favorite Portsmouth hangout: Warm weather: City Park. Cold weather: Anywhere inside.
If you had three wishes for Portsmouth, what would they be?
More job opportunities for the people who live in Downtown
That we can collect at least $200,000 this first year for Portsmouth Medication Access Program
A lowered crime/drug problem
Other than its small-town atmosphere, what do you like about living in Portsmouth? The friends I have made here ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Sister Elaine Davia
by CNB