Hospice of The Carolina Foothills

What Hospice of The Carolina Foothills does

Hospice of The Carolina Foothills (HOCF) is a non-profit hospice and palliative care provider operating in western North Carolina, with primary offices in Forest City and Saluda. The company delivers adult hospice care, adult palliative care, grief support, and a Dementia Capable Care specialty program, supported by a dedicated inpatient facility (Forest City Hospice House) and a network of clinical staff including nurses, aides, social workers, spiritual counselors, and volunteers. HOCF is a wholly-owned operating subsidiary of Agape Care Group, formed when Agape acquired HOCF in May 2022 as part of its Southeast expansion strategy. Agape Care Group itself was created in September 2020 through the rebranding of Hospice Care of South Carolina and Agapé Hospice, and is a portfolio company of Ridgemont Equity Partners.

The company's core technology stack centers on a hospice care delivery platform with clinical documentation systems that incorporate AI-powered ambient listening tools (verbal-to-clinical-note conversion) and Muse predictive modeling technology for patient outcomes assessment. Underlying delivery infrastructure spans home-based hospice, inpatient hospice houses, skilled nursing facility partnerships, and hospital partnerships. HOCF's revenue is generated primarily through Medicare Hospice Benefit reimbursements, with secondary Medicaid and private insurance streams — all gated by CMS eligibility rules requiring a terminal-prognosis of six months or less. The organization operates a referral-led go-to-market motion, sourcing patients through physician relationships, community/VA partnerships (We Honor Veterans Level 4), and educational outreach, supplemented by a community-led channel emphasizing volunteer programs and family testimonials.

From a competitive positioning standpoint, HOCF operates within a regulatory framework that creates meaningful barriers (CMS quality ratings, CHAP pediatric accreditation, HIPAA compliance) but competes in a fragmented regional hospice market. Its position inside the Agape Care Group platform provides scale advantages — including shared back-office, multi-state referral network coverage spanning 11 states, and centralized AI/clinical tooling investments — that an independent 11–50 employee hospice operator could not replicate on its own.

Name

Hospice of The Carolina Foothills

Legal name

Hospice of the Carolina Foothills

Website

https://hocf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hospice of the Carolina Foothills is a non-profit hospice and palliative care provider in western North Carolina, delivering adult hospice, palliative, grief, and dementia care across Forest City and Saluda as a subsidiary of the PE-backed Agape Care Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospice Care Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Other Residential Care Facilities (6239)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)

akta.pro primary industry

Home Hospice Agencies (HLAFAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Hospice / Hospice House (Facility-Based) (HLADAHAC), Bereavement, Grief & Family Support Services (Hospice-Linked) (HLAFAEAO), Hospice Care in Nursing Facilities (SNF/NH Hospice) (HLADAHAD), Palliative Care, Hospice & Serious Illness Support (BPAGACAK)

Keywords

• Hospice care services
• Palliative care services
• End-of-life care
• Grief counseling support
• Inpatient hospice facilities

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbus

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices27 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Medicare Hospice Benefit: Primary revenue stream from Medicare Administrative Contractors through disease-specific LCD guidelines. Patients must have a terminal illness with prognosis of 6 months or less to qualify.
2. Hospice Care Services: End-of-life care services for patients in final phase of illness, including skilled nursing, spiritual care, certified nursing aides, therapeutic activities, bereavement services, and social work services.
3. Palliative Care Services: Relieves symptoms associated with serious, complex, or chronic illnesses, can begin at diagnosis and be administered alongside treatment

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hospice of The Carolina Foothills provides hospice and palliative care for terminally ill patients and their families in western North Carolina. Services include adult hospice care, adult palliative care, grief support counseling, a dementia capable care specialty program, and pediatric care through Hands of Hope. Care is delivered across patient homes, dedicated hospice house facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living settings.

Product overview

Hospice of the Carolina Foothills is part of the Agape Care Group family of brands, offering a unified hospice and palliative care platform. The company provides Adult Hospice Care and Adult Palliative Care as core services, supplemented by Grief Support and Dementia Capable Care as specialty programs. Geographically, the organization operates through multiple regional sub-brands including Agape Care South Carolina, Georgia Hospice Care (operating in all 159 Georgia counties), and ACG Hospice (serving Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia). The portfolio includes four dedicated hospice house facilities (Forest City Hospice House in NC, and Upstate, Lowcountry, and Lexington Community Hospice Houses in SC), plus Hands of Hope, a specialized pediatric palliative care program. Services are delivered across multiple settings including patient homes, hospice houses, skilled nursing facilities, and assisted living facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Georgia Hospice Care: Georgia-specific hospice and palliative care brand serving patients across Georgia.
• ACG Hospice
• Journey Hospice
• Hope Hospice
• Assured Hospice
• GHC Hospice
• Hands of Hope
• Serenity Hospice

Products and services

• Adult Hospice Care Specialized end-of-life care for adult patients in the final phase of illness, focusing on quality of life, pain management, and emotional support for patients and families.
• Adult Palliative Care Relieves symptoms associated with serious, complex, or chronic illnesses, improving quality of life for adult patients alongside their primary treatment.
• Grief Support Individualized counseling, support groups, and resources that facilitate a safe and healing environment for patients and families dealing with loss.
• Dementia Capable Care Clinical specialty program built around understanding the unique challenges of memory loss and advanced decline, focusing on personhood and optimization of function and quality of life.
• Pediatric Care (Hands of Hope) Home-based pediatric program providing palliative and concurrent care for children experiencing life-limiting illnesses, serving patients throughout South Carolina's 46 counties.
• Forest City Hospice House A warm, welcoming inpatient hospice facility in Forest City, North Carolina providing hospice care in a homelike environment.
• Upstate Community Hospice House Hospice house facility in Landrum, South Carolina providing inpatient hospice care with dedicated veteran rooms.
• Lowcountry Community Hospice House Hospice house facility in Summerville, South Carolina providing inpatient hospice care services.
• Lexington Community Hospice House Hospice house facility in Lexington, South Carolina providing inpatient hospice care services.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% of patients are on hospice service less than two weeks, highlighting opportunity for earlier intervention
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Alex Ferguson (Senior Vice President of M&A)coreOthers · 13 September 2022Key executive hire with 14 years of experience leading business development, bringing expertise in M&A integration for continued Southeast expansion.
• BCS & Associates ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2021Consulting firm founded in 2016 by Dr. B. Chad Starks with offices in Charleston, SC and Lynchburg, VA. Partnership to enhance diversity and inclusion across the organization of more than 900 employees, focusing on cultivating deep diversity and cultural competency.
• South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 February 2021Pilot program partnership to bring COVID-19 vaccines to homebound Phase 1a individuals in Hampton and Jasper counties. Agape Care nurses visited homebound residents to administer Moderna vaccine doses.
• National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) We Honor Veterans ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2020Level 4 Partner in collaborative program between NHPCO and Department of Veterans Affairs. Provides veteran-centric education for staff, identifies patients with military experience, develops relationships with VA medical centers.
• The Carnation FoundationcoreOthers501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working with donors to fund programs and provide financial support to patients and employees. Accepts donations to patient fund and employee fund.
• South Carolina Association of County Veteran Affairs OfficerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with county VA offices across all 46 South Carolina counties to identify and serve veteran patients through dedicated Veterans Liaison Danny Pierce.
• Hospice Care of South CarolinacoreOthersLegacy organization that merged with Agape Hospice in January 2020 to form Agape Care Group under The Vistria Group portfolio.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Amedisys: Amedisys is a leading home health and hospice provider across the US with significant hospice patient volumes. Directly comparable in hospice care delivery, Medicare-revenue model, and Southeast regional presence.
• VITAS Healthcare: VITAS Healthcare (a Chemed company) is the largest hospice provider in the US, operating hospice programs in multiple states. Directly comparable in hospice specialty programs, multi-state delivery, and inpatient hospice house facilities.
• Bristol Hospice: Bristol Hospice is a PE-backed multi-state hospice provider with similar acquisition-driven growth strategy. Directly comparable in hospice care delivery, PE-backed roll-up strategy, and multi-state regional model.
• Traditions Health: Traditions Health is a multi-state hospice and home health provider with a similar acquisition-driven growth model. Directly comparable in hospice delivery, multi-state regional approach, and PE-backed roll-up strategy.
• Gentiva: Gentiva is a national hospice and home health provider offering Medicare Hospice Benefit services across multiple states. Directly comparable to HOCF/Agape in core hospice delivery model, multi-state footprint, and PE-backed growth strategy.
• Aveanna Healthcare: Aveanna Healthcare provides home health and hospice services across multiple states with PE sponsorship. Directly comparable in hospice delivery, multi-state regional expansion, and PE-backed growth approach.
• Encompass Health: Encompass Health operates a hospice segment alongside home health and inpatient rehab. Directly comparable in hospice service delivery, multi-state regional model, and quality-rated operating profile.
• Compassus: Compassus operates hospice, palliative, and home health services nationwide with a multi-state footprint and similar specialty programs. Directly comparable in core hospice service delivery and clinical specialty programs like dementia and veterans care.

Broad incumbents

• LHC Group (Optum): LHC Group (now part of Optum/UnitedHealth Group) operates hospice and home health services across the US. Comparable as a major multi-state hospice provider with a broader home health portfolio.
• CenterWell Hospice (Humana): CenterWell is Humana's home health and hospice arm, a large incumbent offering hospice services across many states. Comparable as a major hospice payer-aligned provider with broader portfolio strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/agapecaregroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hospice-of-carolina-foothills

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hospice of The Carolina Foothills