Sunday, October 22, 2000
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Sunday, October 22, 2000 |
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New hope for families Groundbreaking celebrated for children's wing at SW Hospice
By PAT NEWMAN
The tiny hands that symbolically broke ground Thursday for Hope House, the pediatric addition to Southwest Christian Hospice, belonged to the very children it will serve. Assisted by their parents, the children made the dirt fly in preparation for construction of the new facility due to be completed in the summer of 2001. "We've waited for this for a long time," said Dr. John Potts, pediatrician and medical director for Hope House. "This is the formal beginning of Hope House." Four years ago, Hope House began providing in-home care and limited hospice care for the Atlanta area's most medically fragile children. The organization is sponsored by donors and local churches and is affiliated with Southwest Christian Hospice, which is next to Christian City just over the Fayette County line in Union City. Parents faced with around-the-clock care giving were finally able to take a break and leave the house and their children in the capable and loving hands of specially trained Hope House volunteers. Potts recalled a letter written by Gail Matthews, whose daughter Destiny is a member of the Hope House family. She thanked the care givers of Hope House for "putting our family back together..." after a particularly stressful period when she, too, needed medical attention. Following a visit to the facility, Matthews described it as a happy and joyful place with lots of smiling faces. About 45 children have become part of the Hope House family since 1996 and volunteers have logged more than 4,500 hours of in-home care, Potts noted. James W. Dyer, senior minister of Southwest Christian Hospice, called the ground breaking a "dream come true... through the goodness of God." His sentiments were echoed by Mike Sorrow, Hope House director, who introduced the speakers and his friend state Rep. Lynn Westmoreland. Westmoreland urged the community to come together in support of Hope House. Among those participating in the ceremony were Tina Hardy and her 6-year-old daughter Hannah from Morrow, who was stricken with bacterial spinal meningitis at three months old, resulting in hearing loss, cortical blindness, cerebral palsy, seizures and the need for a pacemaker. Hannah is medically stable, according to her mother, but will be entering Egleston Children's Hospital in a week or so for a new pacemaker. One of her volunteer care givers is Lisa Brown of Newnan, a registered nurse and mother of two who volunteers a couple times a month to stay with Hannah or other Hope House children. Despite her busy schedule and full-time job at a hospital in LaGrange, Brown finds time to volunteer. "It's real important to me," she said enthusiastically. Plans for the new facility, which will be added onto the hospice facility, call for an eight-bedroom wing complete with a family lounge, two parents' efficiency rooms, game room, computer and music room, library, multisensory room, hydrotherapy pool, spa bath and showers, gardens, outdoor play area and chapel. Staffing will include a care manager and nursing staff, pediatric nurses, nursing assistants, a social worker, physiotherapist, a chaplain and support staff. The center is being built from funds raised by the Hope House board, churches and volunteers. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-Fil-A Inc., who serves on the Advisory Board for Southwest Christian Hospice, said, " A stay at Hope House... will give parents a chance to gather their thoughts and recharge emotionally and physically while knowing their child is cared for in a loving environment. I know that Hope House will be a blessing to all associated with it in ways that cannot be measured by any conventional standard." The children's garden at Hope House will be named in honor of Cathy and his longtime support of its mission.
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