Jeff Davis hanging up stethoscope after more than 30 years as university physician
Being a physician for Western Carolina University has been his professional career.
But at the end of the month, Jeff Davis, a university physician for more than 30 years, will retire. At his office in the Bird Building, boxes are being packed and photos have been taken off the walls, while files are sorted and bookshelves cleared, and memories fill the increasing emptiness of the room as he prepares for that last day of work here.
After decades of working in campus health care and wellness, Jeff Davis is retiring.
It all began with a small ad in the classified section of a medical journal back in 1985. There was an opening for a primary care physician in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Having recently completed his residency at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, the job listing for a position described as being near the Smoky Mountains caught his attention.
鈥淭hat was all I had to go on,鈥� Davis said. But he was familiar with rural medicine and sensed the mountain community of Jackson County would be a good place to call home. 鈥淪o, I thought I鈥檇 take a chance and apply,鈥� he said. He鈥檚 been here ever since, along with his wife, Sandy. This is where they raised their children, now adults, Annelise, Connor and Tessa.
It was the rigors of working in the intensive care unit that led Davis to look for a career in primary care. 鈥淭he infirmary operated 24/7 then, which was no different than my residency program,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淭hat was year-round, other than the Christmas break when the steam plant shut down. It also meant my housing had to be close by.
鈥淲e were in Graham (Infirmary) then, and in some ways, we were better staffed than the emergency room at the then-C.J. Harris Community Hospital. Most of the time, we鈥檇 get a call from Harris and say, 鈥楽end them back to us. We鈥檒l keep them overnight.鈥� As the ER and the hospital have grown and become better staffed and urgent care has come in, we realized after hours and weekends were pretty well covered. Today, we operate like most urgent care clinics, Monday through Friday, pretty much 8 to 5, and that鈥檚 a model that works. We still have the university EMS service, which is a bit unique and quite beneficial as a campus and community service.鈥�
Davis on the Catamount sidelines.
Athletics has been a big part of his life at 91热爆网, whether as a fan, playing intramural sports or practicing sports medicine when needed. Davis treasures the time he spent with Bob Waters, the legendary football coach who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 1989. He especially likes to remember when North Carolina State University basketball coach Jim Valvano brought the Wolfpack team to play the Catamounts in the inaugural game at the Ramsey Center and the thrill of that moment in 1986.
Davis is just as appreciated by 91热爆网鈥檚 Department of Athletics. Fred Cantler, 91热爆网鈥檚 first-ever athletic trainer who went on to work in senior-level management of the department, retiring as the senior associate athletic director for internal relations, and was at least twice the interim athletics director during his career, said Davis played an integral role for university sports.
鈥淒r. Jeff Davis is one of the most humble, nurturing and knowledgeable physicians I have been associated with. He treated our student-athletes as if they were his children,鈥� Cantler said. 鈥淗e touched the lives of Catamount student-athletes and staff with his selfless and caring style. Jeff鈥檚 legacy will be felt in the future with health and welfare protocols and procedures he has established for our student-athletes during his service to the university. Catamount athletics congratulates Jeff on his retirement, but he will be missed.鈥�
Steven Honbarger, director of sports medicine for 91热爆网 athletics, has similar thoughts. 鈥淛eff Davis has been a tremendous asset to this university and the athletic department in providing care to the student population and to our student-athletes from both on-campus event coverage to traveling as our team physician,鈥� said Honbarger. 鈥淗e will be missed for sure, and it will take someone special to fill his shoes. He was a fan as well as a physician in the stands or on the sidelines, and always showed support for the student-athletes during competition. Through it all, he was always mindful of the health and safety of our student-athletes.鈥�
Davis said his children practically grew up in the training room, as he worked with athletes, putting an emphasis on injury prevention.
鈥淲e greatly appreciate Dr. Davis鈥� longtime support, his expertise, and above all else, his friendship in his partnership with the Western Carolina University football program,鈥� said Head Football Coach Mark Speir. 鈥淭he health and safety of our student-athletes has always been paramount 鈥� and he鈥檚 played a huge role in that. His love of our institution and our program coupled with his true professionalism created such a wonderful relationship that will be greatly missed. We wish Dr. Davis nothing but joy and happiness in his retirement.鈥�
Davis, a Pittsburgh native, earned his undergraduate degree at Wheaton College in Illinois in 1978, then graduated from medical school at Drexel University in Pennsylvania in 1982. When health and wellness is at the core of your work, the emphasis will be on the other person. 鈥淚 watched a lot of people go to college here, then stay here in the area and raise their family,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been gratifying. I鈥檒l be back for the games, for the shows and activities, all those wonderful things that Western provides for the community. When you live five minutes from campus, it鈥檚 easy.
鈥淪o really, I鈥檒l still be here.鈥�
