Duplin Home Care changes name to Carolina East
By Bonnie Edwards
Published in News on September 22, 2004 1:57 PM
Duplin Home Care & Hospice is changing its name to Carolina East, and a hospice center is coming to Kenansville.
Home care is an ever-changing field regulated by Medicare and the state, said Lynn Hardy, a registered nurse and the agency's executive director. "Our goal is and has been to be a quality provider of home care services to Duplin and the surrounding counties in which we serve," she said.
Many people have said they thought that because Duplin was in the name, the agency served only people who live in Duplin County, said Sue Wells, the director of patient and community relations. The agency has always served seven counties, she said. The counties are Duplin, Lenoir, Sampson, Wayne, Pender, Jones and Onslow.
She said another misconception has been that the agency was a Duplin County government agency. It's not, she said. It's a private, nonprofit organization with a volunteer board of directors, she said.
The agency's board of directors had been thinking about changing the name for more than 10 years when the decision was made last month, said Ms. Wells.
"This decision was not taken lightly, and much consideration has been given to get us to this point," she said. "Duplin Home Care & Hospice has a great reputation that we didn't want to lose with the name change. Our goal is to let everyone know that we're still the same quality driven community agency as before, just with a new name."
Hospice comes
Kim and Michelle Quinn of Kenansville have donated about four acres of land for a hospice center. They made the donation during the board's August meeting.
The donation was for the purpose of building the in-patient hospice, which will have six beds for patients who are terminally ill.
The agency is celebrating 20 years as a provider of home health, hospice, personal care services and CAP Case Management services.
A hospice has been a dream of the agency's director and board for many years, said Ms. Wells, and now they are "in the serious planning stages." She said the land on the new N.C. 24/903 bypass is a perfect place for the hospice.
The company has petitioned the state to be allowed to fill the six beds. Some state officials are convinced that Duplin County needs a hospice, and the application will be filed in November. Company officials want to start building in the spring of 2005.
"We need letters of support for this facility in Duplin County," said Ms. Wells. "The first hurdle of the project has been met -- the land."
The Quinns first heard about the company's dream for a hospice through Sylvia Vestal, a board member.
"After careful thought and consideration, the Quinns decided they wanted to be a part of this landmark event for the citizens of Duplin County," said Ms. Wells. "The facility will be named in honor of Mr. Quinn's parents."