Our Story
Our story began as a mission to help our community by providing care and compassion to those with life-limiting illnesses. Our founders had a deep sense of how profoundly illness and grief can affect patients, their families and those they love. It was this devotion that inspired the creation of Lower Cape Fear Hospice in 1980. Dr. Daniel Gottovi, a local physician, led the group that became our first Board of Directors. Sandy Morgan, a 27-year-old UNCW nursing student, was our first patient. She was admitted on July 1, 1980. Sandy and her husband, Philip, had signed up to be some of our first hospice volunteers. However, Sandy was then diagnosed with cancer and needed our hospice support. The compassionate treatment and selfless volunteer spirit that surrounded Sandy and her family remains an important part of the way we care for Lower Cape Fear Hospice patients and families today. Today more than 6,000 families trust us with their care every year.