4/5/07

Be it Doctor’s Day or any day, Lake Marion loves Dr. Gaines
By Cathy Gilbert

BRIAN JARVIS/Manning Times

Lake Marion Nursing Facility took time last Friday to honor Dr. David Gaines with a reception for Doctor’s Day. Picture are Lake Marion Director Libby McLeod, Dr. Gaines, his wife Dee Dee, and their sons, Knox and Cannon.

It is not difficult in Clarendon County to love one’s doctor with more than 30 physicians covering everything from family practice to pediatrics to podiatry.

But at one Clarendon County nursing home, Doctor’s Day was the perfect time to show their physician just how much they love him.

Dr. David Gaines, who serves as “house doctor” for Lake Marion Nursing Facility, was taken completely by surprise when an invite for cookies became a full-blown reception with presents, flowers and even a S.C. House of Representatives proclamation.

Also on hand for the brief reception were Gaines’ wife, Dee Dee, his two sons, Cannon and Knox, as well as members of the Clarendon Health System administration, CEO Ed Frye, Chief Operating Officer Sue Shugart and Grady Bethea, chief operating officer of CHS’s long-term care division. Clarendon Health System owns the Lake Marion Nursing Facility.

The party was organized by Stacy McLeod, a seven-year veteran at Lake Marion where she serves as director of social services.

McLeod, along with facility director Libby McLeod, said it was important for them to honor Gaines on the day set aside for honoring all physicians. The facility presented Gaines with a plaque commemorating the day as well as a scrapbook filled with pictures and testimonies from Gaines’ patients.

“He’s such a nice looking young man,” wrote one resident. “I’d like him to examine me again!”

Stacy McLeod said Gaines is so loved by his patients at the facility that when they hear he is “in the house,” they suddenly develop coughs or stomach aches.

The Lake Marion staff also honored Gaines’ wife by presenting her with a beautiful bouquet of red carnations, the flower symbol of Doctor’s Day.

“We just want to thank Dee Dee for sharing Dr. Gaines with us, which we know is a sacrifice,” said Libby McLeod.

Rep. Cathy Harvin said the occasion was bittersweet for her, as her late husband Alex was the initial developer of the Lake Marion Nursing Facility.

“I am so happy to know that this place was left in the custody of such a talented and caring healthcare entity,” she said. “I know Alex is smiling from above.”

Harvin presented Gaines with a signed proclamation from the House, thanking him for “coming to a community who needs you so much.”

Gaines, for his part, was moved by all the accolades.

“I was totally unprepared for all this. You have made my life so very rich and full,” he said, his voice cracking with heartfelt emotion.

Gaines began his role at Lake Marion when the late Dr. Perry Davis decided to retire.

“Dr. Davis called me and asked me if I would take his role for just two weeks,” Gaines explained. “That was in August of 2005 and it has been my pleasure to work with these fine folks ever since.”

Doctor’s Day is a day of national recognition for the tireless efforts of physicians. Begun in 1935 by the Southern Medical Association Alliance, March 30 was chosen as the official day on which to celebrate Doctors’ Day, as it was on that day in 1842 that Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia, became the first physician in history to use ether anesthesia in surgery. In 1990, President George Bush issued a proclamation making March 30th an official observance.

The Cypress Foundation honored the entire medical staff of Clarendon Health System with a reception at the Carpenter House in Manning last Friday night. During the day, doctors were presented with a red carnation as well as a list of donations made in their honor to the Foundation.