CHUCKEY -- A second phase of renovations is set to begin at Durham-Hensley Health and Rehabilitation.

The 75-bed skilled-nursing facility underwent earlier renovations that included the addition of private care rooms and a hospice wing.

According to a news release from the facility, this second phase of renovations will feature "new 'high-low' style, state-of-the-art, adjustable beds, designed to maximize the residents' comfort, while at the same time enable Durham-Hensley staff to enhance their ability to provide effective care and services."

"We are pleased to offer the latest in this type of health-care bed to our residents," said Durham-Hensley administrator Kathie Ball, in the release.

"These beds not only offer a great deal of comfort, but have the capability of getting very low to the ground, which allows a person to get in and out with less effort and a greater degree of ease," Ball said.

With the addition of their new beds, Durham-Hensley is allowing the public to have the facility's previously used beds free-of-charge. The beds will be available "to anyone who wishes to come by and get one, while they last," the release said.

"When word began getting out that we were giving away our previous beds, some mistook it as a sign that we were closing," Ball said with a chuckle.

"Let me assure everyone that nothing could be further from the truth," she added.

"Durham-Hensley has been in business for many years and we plan to be at the same spot providing care for our local citizens well into the future," Ball said.

Durham-Hensley Nursing Home was founded in 1951 by Louie Hensley Durham. She was encouraged by local doctors to provide a place for other elderly and sick after she first cared for her father and uncle.

Mrs. Durham's son and daughter-in-law, Andy and Eva Hensley, helped her as the nursing home grew and her health deteriorated.

After Mrs. Durham's retirement, Andy and Eva assumed responsibility for the nursing home.

The Hensley's daughter, Kathie Ball, started working at the nursing home in 1971 and became a licensed administrator in 1977.

Ball's son, Heath, is the latest generation of the family to join the facility, serving as assistant administrator.

Anyone interested in obtaining one of the facility's previous beds, which are good for those in need of a health-care related sleeping and resting bed, should call Durham-Hensley Health and Rehabilitation at 257-6761.