CapDev client, Crystal Coast Hospice House, last week celebrated a milestone at its groundbreaking on May 22, 2012. The event, attended by nearly 200 supporters and honorees, was heralded as "a celebration of both a facility that will fill a void in the area and a community that has come together to make the project happen." Allan Burrows, President of Capital Development Services, was delighted to attend the groundbreaking. Pam Barnhardt has served as Senior Counsel on the campaign for Capital Development Services.
The construction of the long-planned Crystal Coast Hospice House in Carteret County, North Carolina, is underway; and the ceremony was an opportunity for the project's leaders to thank those who have participated. The inpatient residential hospice house will provide 24-hour care for terminally ill patients in a home-like environment that offers comfort, peace and dignity for patients and families at the most difficult of times. While hospice programs are available in the area, the facility will be the first in the region to provide inpatient hospice care. Signs of construction are already visible on the site, and the facility is expected to open in 2013.
Sarah Strange, CCHH Board of Directors President, calls her work a labor of love. Having experienced hospice care with a loved one, Strange said Crystal Coast Hospice House will be a gift. "What I learned is that hospice is more about living than dying," she said.
"This is going to be such a blessing, not just for Newport but also the five counties it will service. Thank you to all of you who have helped make it possible," Newport Mayor Derryl Garner said.
Dale Britt has served as the co-chair of the capital campaign for the project and the support from the community shows in the 10 pages of names of individuals, families, organizations and businesses who have contributed. "We were told it would take an entire village to get the job done and an entire village has been coming together," he said.
CCHH has received more than $4 million in pledges, donations and grants toward the $5 million goal. The State Employees Credit Union Foundation contributed $1 million, which has given it naming status. The formal name of the facility will be the SECU Crystal Coast Hospice House.
Mark Twisdale, SECU Foundation executive director, said the foundation's support is due to the community's support of the project. "We care because you made this project special," he said.
Residents of Carteret County, Gen. Hugh Shelton, a retired four-star Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Curtis Strange, a PGA Tour champion and ESPN golf announcer, are serving as honorary chairs of the building campaign. "It is a day of thanks," said Gen. Shelton, guest speaker during the ceremony. He also lauded CCHH President Sarah Strange and the board members for their work and dedication for "making a dream come true."
He echoed the words of two men who spoke before him, CCHH Finance Chairman Tommy Bennett and Capital Campaign Co-Chairman Dale Britt, who both remarked on Ms. Strange's seemingly tireless efforts. "We would not be here without her leadership, passion and optimism," Mr. Bennett said before Ms. Strange took the podium.
"This is a huge milestone for Crystal Coast Hospice House," she said, adding that seven years ago, the initiative was taken to spread awareness of need for an in-patient hospice facility and it grew from there. "Many hands and many hearts worked together," she said about the efforts of all those volunteers, sponsors and donors who helped CCHH get to where it is today.
"The support has been overwhelming," Mr. Britt said. "I am personally humbled by the generosity."
Mr. Britt introduced the executive director of the SECU Foundation, Mark Twisdale, who recognized the forces moving behind the CCHH. "You cannot comprehend what a wonderful group you have representing the Crystal Coast Hospice House," he said, adding the SECU Foundation is happy to be a part of the initiative.
Dean Lee with Home Health and Hospice Care (3HC), CCHH's operating partner, remarked at the event that by having this new hospice facility, it will "bring a whole new element to end-of-life care" to the community. He added it has been a wonderful partnership with CCHH and praised the cumulative effort of so many. "What happened here defined what a community should be – people working together," he said.
