By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

Whiteville continues to welcome Hospice House with open arms.

The initiative of a few local leaders, the city, and state representatives to seek funding opportunities for the Hospice are center recently paid off in a $130,000 rural center grant.

Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. and Rep. Dewey Hill helped secure the grant and made the announcement Tuesday.

The award is an economic infrastructure incentive that provides $10,000 per job created and requires a 5 percent local match.

The City of Whiteville has already entered an agreement with the Lower Cape Fear Hospice & LifeCareCenter to provide $5,000 per year for five years that will meet the match requirements, City Manager Joshua Ray said.

“We can apply for this for any incoming business,” Ray pointed out, but added that it is wonderful to be able to assist Hospice with its work.

By freeing up money that would otherwise be spent on construction, more families and their loved ones could be assisted, Ray said.

“Representative Hill and I are really pleased,” Soles said. “Hospice has done so many wonderful things for families in their time of need.”

“It’s a great program and it helps so many people,” Hill said. “We’re pleased to be able to help with this project.”

A groundbreaking ceremony for the facility to be constructed at 206 Warrior Trail Road in Whiteville was held last June.

The new hospice care center will serve the residents of Columbus, Bladen, and Brunswick counties.

The six-bed, inpatient facility will provide round-the-clock, short-term medical and respite care in a homelike setting for hospice patients and their families.

With the grant, pledges, and in-kind contributions, roughly $2.1 million has been raised, Hospice House Capital Campaign Committee Chair Debra Walters said.

The public portion of the capital campaign will begin soon.

The center is being constructed on five acres of land donated by the J.C. Lennon family on Warrior Trail Road.

Lower Cape Fear Hospice & LifeCareCenter provides professional health care and comfort to people with life-limiting illness and offers hope, support, and education in Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, and Pender counties. A facility is located in New Hanover County.