FAQ
General Information
Member Services
Village Living Options
Facilities and Leisure Opportunities
Lodging
General Information
What is Advent Christian Village?
ACV is a unique, comprehensive retirement community, offering a continuum of care and diverse housing options. It is a community offering an elaborate network of social, recreational and medical services. There is no entrance fee required to become a member of Advent Christian Village.With whom is Advent Christian Village affiliated?
Advent Christian Village was founded in 1913, and is the oldest retirement community in Florida. It was founded by, and maintains close ties with the Advent Christian denomination. However, ACV does not discriminate along the lines of religious affiliation. All faiths are welcome, and eighteen different denominations are represented among the regular attendees of the Village Church.
Where is Advent Christian Village located?
Advent Christian Village is located in Dowling Park, Florida. Dowling Park is in north central Florida about 15 minutes west of Live Oak along a scenic bend in the historic Suwannee River. We are roughly equidistant from Jacksonville, Gainesville, and Tallahassee, Florida and Valdosta, Georgia in the part of Florida informally known as "Original Florida."
How large is the community?
ACV is made up of over 800 residents and members, and serves an additional 300 people in the surrounding community of Dowling Park. The Village is the third largest employer in Suwannee County, with more than 450 employees. It is large enough to have ample opportunities for making friends, yet small enough to have a hometown atmosphere.
Why was Advent Christian Village founded?
ACV was originally founded as an orphanage and home for retired pastors and missionaries. This mission of ACV remains in keeping with the spirit of its founding:
To express Christ’s love by providing compassionate care and quality comprehensive services for senior adults, families with special needs, and children, in a secure, supportive residential setting and in the surrounding communities.
Member Services
What services does membership at ACV include?
On-campus Village members enjoy security and safety through an emergency call system in each dwelling, certified EMTs, telephone reassurance, a sheriff’s deputy, and a certified volunteer fire department. Membership includes access to the Copeland Community Center—a complete fitness center, hourly on-campus shuttle bus transportation, a weekly Village newsletter, access to view the Village TV station, case management through the Social Services department, and access to Village services. Members receive discounts on other Village amenities, such as the annual Live! At Dowling Park Artist Series, meals in the Phillips Dining Room, special events and shopping or sightseeing trips to surrounding areas.
What medical care is available at ACV?
The new W.B. Copeland Medical Center (opening November 2006) is a state-of-the-art medical facility housing a medical clinic, a pharmacy, an outpatient rehab center, and a dental office. Our physician, who lives on campus, and a nurse practitioner take medical appointments Monday through Friday. After hours, certified EMTs are on call to respond to medical emergencies.
Also available to members is ACV Homecare, a licensed and Medicare/Medicaid certified Home Care Agency, providing skilled nursing care and personal care to residents in their homes. Home Care Agency License # HHA29991013.
When the need arises for a specialist or a non-emergency trip to the hospital, ACV offers medical transportation to and from medical facilities in surrounding cities.
Village Living Options
What types of housing are offered to members of ACV?
Three hundred rental apartments include, one and two bedrooms or efficiencies. Styles range from mid-rise, garden apartments, clusters, duplexes, single dwelling homes, and even manufactured homes.
A unique feature is River Woods subdivision, a planned unit development with home ownership. Deed restrictions protect the value of your investment. Basic yard care, refuse pickup, and other services are provided through the River Woods Homeowners Association.
Our continuum of care features Dacier Manor and Good Samaritan Center, to which members are given priority admission. Dacier Manor is a 40-room Assisted Living Facility with round-the-clock supervision for residents who can no longer live alone. Services include 3 meals daily, activities, housekeeping, personal care, and medication supervision. Assisted Living Facility #7641
Good Samaritan Center is a 161-bed Skilled Nursing Facility, with 24-hour nursing care, rehabilitation services and activities to keep residents functioning at their highest level. One wing of Good Samaritan Center is specifically equipped for those dealing with dementia.
Facilities & Leisure Opportunities
Being a rural community, don’t the residents feel somewhat secluded and have difficulty finding necessities?
Advent Christian Village is really a self-contained community, with the Village Square offering a small grocery store, bank, a branch of the U.S. Post Office, beauty salon and barber shop, a thrift store, an arts & crafts shop and a cafe.
If a desired item is not available in Village shops, the weekly shopping trip to Live Oak transports residents to grocery stores, discount stores and pharmacies. Trips to larger cities with shopping malls are offered once a month or so.
The hub of the Village, Phillips Center houses Rumph Dining Room, which offers 3 meals daily, and more casual dining at the Lopin’ Gopher Deli. Other amenities located in the Center are the Village Library, a computer lab, meeting and activity rooms and the Information Center.
What activities are available?
A variety of regularly scheduled activities such as ceramics, pottery, tennis, fishing, bridge, line-dancing, swimming, water volleyball, aerobics, hiking, biking, billiards, nearby golfing, Village forums, Bible Studies, shopping trips, nature walks, and video night, as well as numerous opportunities for volunteering are illustrative of the many occasions for making friends and staying active.
The annual Live! At Dowling Park Artist Series brings theater, music, dance and drama to Dowling Park. Among past featured performances are the Jacksonville Symphony and the US Marine Corp Band.
Copeland Community Center is a hub of activity with its fitness center, heated indoor pool and Jacuzzi, learning center and computer lab, and an array of classes and support groups promoting wellness.
A vital part of the community is the Village Church, which blends traditional and contemporary worship, and is a mosaic of Bible-believing Christians from many denominations. The church features a sixty-five-voice Chancel Choir, vocal groups, hand bell choirs, youth and children’s choirs, drama and intergenerational programs. The Church and a full-time youth minister serve area young people through special programming and a community youth center.
Lodging
Are there overnight accommodations for visitors on-campus?
Yes, the Village Lodge, located in the Village Square has 24 beautifully appointed rooms and one suite furnished in the grand tradition of the old south. Many rooms overlook the Suwannee River. Call for a tour and you will get one night free stay.
Suwannee River Conference and Retreat Center offers not only the Village Lodge, but also unique cottages ideal for family reunions or small group retreats, cozy lodges at Camp Suwannee, full hook-up RV accommodations at Tresca Park, and conference & meeting rooms. It is the perfect site for small or medium sized group retreats and conferences. The Conference & Retreat Center serves businesses, church groups and reunions. Catering is available. Call for prices and availability.
Camp Suwannee, a year-round camping program, has a capacity for 165 children and adults. Facilities include four air-conditioned lodges, a dining room, an all-purpose building, and access to an outdoor swimming pool, ball fields, primitive tenting sites, canoeing and other amenities of the Village.