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2010

2009

Centra Health Foundation Receives $100,000 for Nursing Education Endowment

LYNCHBURG…Cinda and George Hurt, M.D., a Lynchburg neurosurgeon, have donated $100,000 to the Centra Health Foundation for an endowment to fund nursing education.
The couple made the gift in memory of Mrs. Hurt's aunt, Virginia (Gina) Avenel Henderson, a nurse, nursing education professor and author of nursing texts used throughout the world. Miss Henderson wrote "Principles and Practice of Nursing," one of the best known nursing texts, held 12 honorary doctorate degrees and was a strong advocate for continuing education for nurses. She was a member of the faculty of Teachers College, Columbia University and Yale University. She was inducted into the American Nursing Association Hall of Fame in 1996.
"My hope is that this will be the initial gift in the development of an endowment fund to support nursing education throughout Centra Health," said Dr. Hurt. "I have a great appreciation for what nurses have done for my patients during my career and I wanted to be able to give back something to the nurses. I would hope other physicians would step forward."
"This endowment will touch all nurses at Centra Health," said Kathryn Pumphrey, executive vice president of the Centra Health Foundation, "and we are very excited that the Hurts have chosen to memorialize Virginia Henderson and honor our nursing staff in this way."
Virginia Henderson grew up at Bellevue, a boarding school near Forest operated by her grandfather, where she received her earliest education. She completed nursing school at the U.S. Army School of Nursing, and received her bachelor's and master's degrees at Teacher's College, Columbia University.
While much of her adult life was spent away from Lynchburg, she frequently returned to central Virginia to visit family members. Her visits were a special occasion for her nieces and nephews.
"Gina had a wonderful knack of always making whomever she was with feel special," said Mrs. Hurt. "She related well to children, and everyone adored her. She was a very special person."
Miss Henderson was an active member of the American Nurses Association, the National League of Nursing and Sigma Theta Tau Nurses Honorary Society. She received numerous awards from throughout the world. She was the first recipient of the Christianne Reimann Prize from the international Council of Nurses, and received the Merit Award from the National Association of the Nurses of Columbia, South America. She was an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Nursing and the American Academy of Nursing and an honorary member of the Japanese Nursing Association and the Irish Nursing Association.

Contact: Susan Brandt at Centra Health, 434-947-4731