Heart of Hospice based in Columbia, South Carolina, has purchased the operations of Heartstrings Hospice, also in Columbia. Heart of Hospice, a subsidy of EPI Group based in Charleston, South Carolina, provides care to more 1,500 patients across 17 agencies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and its home state, the hospice says in a release. “This acquisition is consistent with our plan to grow our current footprint,” EPI President Terry Hurley says in the release.