LCFL Opens First Free-Standing Palliative Medicine Clinic in Southeastern NC
SEPT. 25, 2024
Wilmington, NC – Lower Cape Fear LifeCare is opening the first free-standing palliative medicine clinic in southeastern North Carolina. LifeCare Center for Palliative Medicine will provide expert support for people with serious illness and be located at 2250 Shipyard Blvd., Wilmington, NC in the Barclay Commons dining, shopping and office complex at the intersection of Independence and Shipyard Blvd. The clinic will open its doors to patients on Oct. 1, 2024, and will serve patients from local healthcare providers including Novant Health Zimmer Cancer Institute, Novant Health physician clinics as well as patients from other area physicians.
Palliative medicine is specialized medical care for people living with serious illnesses. The goal is to provide patients with relief from the symptoms and the stress of illnesses such as heart disease, COPD, cancer, renal and liver disease, dementia, Parkinson’s, and ALS. Palliative medicine can be provided together with curative treatment for a serious illness.
“As oncologists, we work hand in hand with our palliative care colleagues who provide expertise on pain and symptom management and add an extra layer of support for people living with cancer,” Dr. Lindsey Buckingham, a gynecologic oncologist with Novant Health Zimmer Cancer Institute, said. “Both patients and families benefit from the involvement of both oncology and palliative care.”
Palliative medicine improves quality of life for patients and their families by managing the pain, symptoms and stresses of the illness while receiving ongoing curative treatments. It also supports and improves coordination of care by working in partnership with a patient’s current doctor. It assists patients and their loved ones with discussions about goals of care and provides information and support on advance care planning. A palliative medicine team works with patients to help with physical and psychosocial needs such as pain, nausea, vomiting, breathing difficulties, fatigue, confusion, and depression.
“We’re proud and delighted to offer our community the first free-standing palliative medicine clinic in southeastern North Carolina,” Gwen Whitley, president and CEO said. “This is truly a significant step in providing life impacting care to people and families living with serious illnesses. We are thankful to be able to make this move with the support of Novant Health, who previously housed the clinic in its Zimmer Cancer Institute. Having outgrown that space and with the increasing demand for such care from other local providers for their patients, we are opening this dedicated space to serve those in our region. We look forward to providing palliative medicine in the clinic as well as appointments through telehealth, in private homes, assisted and skilled nursing facilities, and by continuing our in-patient palliative care partnerships with regional hospitals.”
Lower Cape Fear LifeCare has been providing palliative medicine to people in our region for more than three decades. It is the longest operating nonprofit hospice care provider in southeastern North Carolina and the second largest hospice provider in the state. Each year it provides more than one million dollars in care and services to people in the communities it serves.
Lower Cape Fear LifeCare is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing access to the highest quality LifeCare, education, and supportive services to our patients, their families, and the communities we serve. For more information, visit lifecare.org.
