Laurie Bystrom, president and CEO of the Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center, remembers a time when talking about preparing a family member’s pending death was taboo for many in greater Wilmington’s medical community.

“It was just a topic many were scared to discuss during that time,” Bystrom said. “Even though back then, and even today, many would tell you that they would prefer to be at home, surrounded by family during their final days.”

But the conversation eventually began to grow, and with it, interest in building a hospice center to serve southeastern North Carolina in Wilmington.

“Dr. Daniel Gottovi brought the concept to Wilmington shortly after the country’s first hospice opened in New Haven, Connecticut,” Bystrom said. “At first, the operation was mostly completed on a volunteer basis . . . but as more people heard about our services, we began to grow.”

Shortly after being incorporated by the state, the nonprofit organization quickly formed an endowment — now called the Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center Foundation — in 1984 to raise funds for a New Hanover County facility.
The rest quickly became history.

“We continue to enjoy success,” Bystrom said. “This has truly been a team effort . . . we have some of the most faithful employees, families and volunteers that make giving our patients the proper care during their final days a priority.”

Charting a course to grow

The Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center — which serves patients in New Hanover, Pender, Columbus, Bladen and Brunswick counties — is charting new growth and forging new relationships with area businesses as it quickly becomes one of the fastest growing hospice organizations in North Carolina with more than 250 employees and more than 500 volunteers across the five-county region.

The hospice — where patients are admitted during their final six months of  battling a terminal illness — provides a number of services for its patients and families. Many include support services and camps for families dealing with the pending death of a loved one, to medical services needed to assist a patient during their dying days at one of its hospice sites, or in the privacy of their home.

Lower Cape Fear Hospice, which recently celebrated 30 years of service this summer, relies heavily on donations used to construct new facilities and abate extra costs for patients that are not covered by Medicaid or Medicare.

“All of the money we raise from donations, all 100 percent of it goes back into the hospice,” said Laurie H. Taylor, vice president of development of the Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center. Despite a sharp downturn in the economy, the Lower Cape Fear

Hospice organization continues to plug away at new projects across the region.

The group recently was given the green light by the state to add six new beds at it New Hanover facility, Taylor said.

The new beds would give Lower Cape Fear Hospice’s New Hanover campus a total of 18 beds.

While no budget has been drafted for the future expansion, Taylor said the hospice has already raised $150,000 toward the future construction. The group also got an extra boost when New Hanover county commissioners in November agreed to sell Lower Cape Fear Hospice 4 of its 13 acres along Physicians Drive in Wilmington for $1.3 million.

The remaining 9 acres is where the Southeastern Center for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse is expected to build a new facility.

Hospice officials hope to secure the necessary funding for New Hanover County’s campus expansion by 2013, with construction and completion slated for 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Bystrom said additional acreage was needed to ensure the facility has room to grow with the region.

“We plan to expand our campus from 8 acres to 12 acres,” Bystrom said. “Over the next 10 to 20 years we’re going to see a large number of retirees move to our area . . . purchasing the land ensures that we can accommodate their hospice needs in the future.”

And that’s not all.

Shortly after the construction of their $2.6 million, six-bed Columbus County campus — called Angel House — in Whiteville was completed in 2008, the group quickly went to work in Wilmington by constructing the Duncan Phillips Life Care and Counseling Center, thanks to a $1 million match by local hospice advocate Katherine Phillips.

“Our building was completed in 2009 and is gold LEED-certified,” Bystrom said. “Having the building be green is not only a cost saving measure, but I feel it adds more serenity and calm for our patients and staff, and that’s important.”

The group also continues to raise funds for its new Brunswick County facility that is currently under construction in Bolivia.

Wilmington-based LS3P Architect Chris Boney drafted plans for the Bolivia-based hospice campus, while Monteith Construction is building the facility.

Connecting with the business community

With the help of the nonprofit’s foundation, the organization has raised $2.1 million for the Brunswick County facility. However, the group received another boost to the project after officials with the State Employee Credit Union promised to pledge $1 million if the foundation could match its donation with an extra $400,000.

The group is growing close to that goal.

Shortly after the donation target was announced, Shallotte-based Atlantic Telephone Membership Corp. on Nov. 30 pledged $75,000 to the project.

“It’s a testament to our success,” Taylor said. “People understand the benefit of having these services in their community, and our businesses are responding. We still are looking for donations, but I feel we will reach our goal.”

Officials hope to have Brunswick County’s State Employee Credit Union Hospice House completed by July 2012, Taylor said.

“It’s in a central location near the new Brunswick Novant Medical Center on Ocean Highway,”Taylor said.

She said the organization could have streamlined the bed expansions exclusively to New Hanover County; however, it would have taken away from the group’s original philosophy.

“It just didn’t seem like a wise investment of donor dollars to just expand in Wilmington and neglect the rest of our coverage area,” Taylor said. “We have some of the state’s largest counties in terms of geography, so building these facilities outside of Wilmington means that families won’t have to travel far, or make arrangements to take off of work, to visit their loved ones.”

Taylor said it’s important for businesses to continue supporting the Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Life Care Center through sponsorships and donations.

“Our services exist because of the donations we receive from the community,” Taylor said. “Once they see what our hospice provides to their community, many are ready to act. It’s that type of support, and the hard work from our staff, that make our organization so special.”