Press
SECU members provide $1 million challenge grant for new UNC Hospice Home
RALEIGH, NC (July 14, 2015) — A ceremonial groundbreaking was held today in Pittsboro, North Carolina, for a new inpatient and residential hospice care facility that will serve terminally ill patients and their families in Chatham and surrounding counties – the SECU Jim & Betsy Bryan Hospice Home of UNC Health Care. State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) members, via the SECU Foundation, provided a $1 million challenge grant to aid in the construction of the hospice home in partnership with The Medical Foundation of North Carolina, Incorporated. Representatives from the Credit Union and SECU Foundation joined community leaders and supporters for the morning event, during which time SECU Board of Directors Chairman Jim Johnson presented a check to The Medical Foundation on behalf of Credit Union members who fund the SECU Foundation.
“We are incredibly grateful for this generous contribution from the SECU Foundation,” said Ann Braun, President of The Medical Foundation of North Carolina. “It will help us reach the finish line and fully fund construction of the new UNC Hospice Home.”
William Roper, CEO of UNC Health Care and Dean of the UNC School of Medicine, spoke about the importance of SECU Foundation’s support for the new facility. “This gift will allow us to provide coordinated, compassionate care outside the hospital and give patients and their families access to meaningful and peaceful end-of-life care in a peaceful setting.”
UNC Hospice has been providing home-based care to patients and their families in Chatham and surrounding counties since 1999. The new facility will enable UNC Hospice to further its long-term tradition of hospice excellence, offering comfort, tranquility and a home-like environment, a welcome alternative to hospital admission when remaining at home becomes challenging. The SECU Jim & Betsy Bryan Hospice Home of UNC Health Care will feature amenities including a kitchen, dining room, children’s playroom, meditation space, family visiting areas and ten private rooms. Patient and family support through UNC Health Care/Hospice will include nursing services with clinical staffing 24/7, social work, bereavement and chaplain services, among others.
Former UNC School of Medicine faculty member Dr. Jim Bryan and his wife Betsy have been longtime advocates for hospice care in North Carolina and are honored in the naming of the Hospice Home. Dr. Bryan stated, “Often times, families living in this community have faced financial and emotional hardships when trying to spend time with loved ones and coordinate their care. This new hospice gives them an alternative and will mean so much to patients and their families.”
“Many North Carolinians have been touched by hospice care, a service that has become an integral part of today’s healthcare,” remarked Mr. Johnson. The UNC Hospice Home is the 14th SECU Foundation-supported hospice initiative, demonstrating our members’ understanding of the need for hospice and palliative care services in our state. On behalf of our members, we are honored to support this project, one that reflects the basic principles and founding philosophy upon which the SECU Foundation and Hospice were established – ‘People Helping People.’ We look forward to the opening of the beautiful new facility in 2016!”
About SECU and the SECU Foundation
A not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members, SECU has been providing employees of the State of North Carolina and their families with consumer financial services for 78 years. The Credit Union also offers a diversified line of financial advisory services including retirement and education planning, tax preparation, insurance, trusts, estate planning and investments through its partners and affiliated entities. SECU serves nearly 2 million members through 254 branch offices, over 1,100 ATMs, 24/7 Contact Centers and a website, www.ncsecu.org. The SECU Foundation, a 501c (3) charitable organization funded solely by the contributions of SECU members, promotes local community development in North Carolina primarily through high impact projects in the areas of housing, education, healthcare and human services.