ELLERBE — The Ellerbe town council approved a North Carolina Department of Transportation agreement for the Ellerbe Springs Rest Area during its November meeting. The agreement allows the DOT to maintain, equip and operate the rest area for 10 years, with the option for 10 one-year extensions.
Mayor Brenda Capel explained the benefits of the agreement after meeting with DOT officials.
“The town owns the rest area. They’re just maintaining it. What they want to do now is upkeep. When I say upkeep… if something needs repairs, they’ll do it… we’re going to maintain what we have and they will upkeep everything, so it sounds to me like it’s a win-win,” Capel said.
Under the agreement, if it is not renewed or is terminated, the DOT may remove improvements made to the property, restoring the site as long as removal does not impact it. Improvements may remain on the property after the agreement ends if both parties agree.
Capel noted that the DOT had considered closing the rest area, but a study revealed that about 200,000 travelers use the facility annually.
“They initially wanted to close it and they did a study and they found out that a lot of people traveled. They decided to would not be feasible to just close,” she said.
In other businesss, the council also adopted the National Care at Home Month Proclamation, recognizing the importance of home-based care in supporting patients and families. The full proclamation reads:
“WHEREAS, for more than half a century, care at home has supported millions of patients nationwide, allowing them to recover from acute illness or injury, navigate activities in their daily lives, or spend their final months at home, surrounded by loved ones;
WHEREAS, home-based care and support offer a person-centered approach to treatment, including expert medical care, quality symptom control, assistance with essential daily activities, and comprehensive pain management as a foundation of care;
WHEREAS, beyond providing physical treatment, care at home improves the quality of life for patients by allowing them to remain where they’d most like to reside and continue to integrate with their communities;
WHEREAS, in addition to helping patients, home care provides support, respite, and in some cases, counseling services, to patients’ families and loved ones;
WHEREAS, in an increasingly fragmented and difficult-to-navigate medical system, home care is one of the areas of healthcare that demonstrates how care can -and should -work at its best for its patients, offering a full continuum of services;
WHEREAS, millions of Americans recovering from acute illness or injury or living with serious or life-limiting illnesses and their loved ones receive care from home health, hospice and palliative care, home care, and Medicaid home and community based service providers in communities throughout the United States each year;
WHEREAS, home care organizations are advocates and educators about advance care planning that helps individuals make decisions about the care they want and empowers them to be the architects of their care plan;
WHEREAS, the central philosophy of home care puts patients first, ensuring a coordinated and person-centered approach to care, protecting patient choice and access to individualized services based on a patient’s unique care needs and wishes;
WHEREAS, care at home is a valuable resource that should be available for all Americans.”
Lisa Luckey, volunteer and outreach coordinator at Richmond County Hospice, expressed appreciation for the proclamation.
“Thank you guys for doing the proclamation for the month. We appreciate all the support for Richmond County Hospice,” she said.