Ground broken

Breaking ground on Phase III of the Cottingham House at Oconee Hospice of the Foothills (l to r) is: John Cox, Project Manager, Trehel Corporation; Arlene Privette, Director, Oconee Hospice of the Foothills; Mary Ann Schrecengost, Hospice of the Foothills Foundation Board Chair; Jeanne L. Ward, Oconee Medical Center President and CEO; Daniel Smith, MD, Medical Director, Hospice of the Foothills; and Dwight Hotchkiss, MD, former Hospice of the Foothills Foundation Board Chair.

In a brief ceremony, Oconee Hospice of the Foothills broke ground this week on the third and final phase of the Cottingham Hospice House. The full-time residential facility that cares for patients near the end of life features 15 rooms, but seeks to add another 10 once the state approves a certificate of need. Estimates for finishing what is to be a shelled-in space are about $300 thousand to $400 thousand, but the OMC Foundation predicts that once this year’s Christmas Tree Festival is finished, there were will be more than $200 thousand in the bank toward the goal.