Amy Hudson and the Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting for Lower Cape Fear LifeCare July 28 at their new location at 1107 W. Broad St., Unit G in Elizabethtown.
LIFECARE IN BLADEN
Lower Cape Fear LifeCare President and CEO Gwen Whitley out of Wilmington greeted a crowd of well wishers to the ribbon-cutting and grand opening of their new building in Elizabethtown.
The ribbon was officially cut by Lower Cape Fear LifeCare President and CEO Gwen Whitley July 28 at their new location in Elizabethtown. The Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce hosted the ribbon-cutting and official welcome.
ELIZABETHTOWN – Lower Cape Fear LifeCare was officially welcomed to their new office in Elizabethtown at 1107 W. Broad Street, Unit G with a ribbon-cutting ceremony sponsored by the Elizabethtown-White Lake Chamber of Commerce.
The business who has been operating in our community for 45 years said that they were excited to open their doors to the community. Light refreshments were served as the community got a chance to meet the LifeCare team and to learn more about their services.
According to their website, lifecare.org, “Our goal is to provide you and your family with the highest level of quality end-of-life care in the region. If your healthcare needs can’t be met at home, our exclusive hospice care centers offer you compassionate care and comfort in a home-like setting. We have beautiful and serene locations nearby that provide expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support.”
“On behalf of the Elizabethtown-White Lake area Chamber of Commerce it is my absolute pleasure to welcome you all to the ribbon cutting ceremony to honor Lower Cape Fear Life Care,” Amy Hudson said. “This moment is more than just an opening of a building or an expansion of a service; this is a celebration of compassion, community and commitment to care. Lower Cape Fear has stood as a beacon of comfort and dignity providing hospice and grief support services that touch lives when it matters the most. The impact you make extends far beyond your walls. You bring peace to families, clarity in times of uncertainty and comfort to those navigating some of life’s most important and difficult moments. It takes a special kind of organization and truly exceptional people.”
After a prayer of dedication from the LifeCare chaplain, Ricky Leinwand, representing the town of Elizabethtown stood to offer his welcome and remarks.
“We want to welcome you,” Leinwand said. “We are so proud of our town and having you here just makes it better. My father was the Mayor of Elizabethtown 25 years ago, and in 2012 we used Lower Cape Fear LifeCare back then. You all are more than hospice now, but that is a big deal now for elderly people. We appreciate you being a part of Elizabethtown. The County and the town are together now. How about that? If the town can do anything for you, let me know.”
Gwen Whitley, the President and CEO of Lower Cape Fear LifeCare in Wilmington was introduced to the crowd and before she cut the ribbon, she addressed the audience.
“17 years is a long time,” Whitley said. “That’s how long I’ve been here. This new space represents more than just an address change. It’s a way for us to deepen our relationship with the people of Bladen County. That is what we have been doing, but we hope that this will be better suited for that. We give our clinical teams a stronger home base here in this office and supports the important work that we do every day which is caring for your loved ones whether it’s in their homes or a skilled nursing facility, assisted living facility or in hospitals or a care center. We are glad to be here and we think that this is going to give us a better opportunity to be more visible to the public and to the great citizens of Bladen County.”
She went on to state their mission which she said always has been able to provide access to the highest quality of care and supportive services to patients, families and the communities they serve.
“We are an agency of service and care and compassion,” she continued. “That’s what we stand for. We’re especially grateful to the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation for helping to make this move possible and to all of you that support us in our work that we do. We’re proud to be here in Elizabethtown and it’s a great town and we are proud to help serve in this community.”
During the time of viewing the building a question was asked about the consistency of care.
“We try to find the right care plan for the patients,” Eric Walker, vice president of sales marketing and community engagement said. “We go out every couple of weeks to check on them. It just depends – and a lot of it is training from the families themselves because so many families when they have a diagnosis of dementia really don’t know what to do. With our hospice program we’ve been servicing Southeastern North Carolina for over 45 years. We wanted to be in this town. It just helps with our nurses to be able to come here, sit down and do some charting and some of their supplies are here. But 90% of what we do takes place in the home.