Buckhead - The Jewish Georgian

Page 42 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN September-October 2007
Helping ordinary people become heroes to kids in need
I was looking for a good human-interest
story for the New Year when a close friend
told me about some people she had met at a
Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce
meeting.
The organization they represent, Dream
House for Medically Fragile Children, Inc.,
is dedicated to increasing the opportunities
for medically fragile children to live in a
stable, permanent, home environment. They
are doing this by developing support
resources and programs that will increase
the number of families and communities
prepared to care for these children.
I had never heard of the organization or
the term “medically fragile children.” My
friend said the organization helps kids with
complicated health care conditions, many of
whom have been abandoned by their families.
I visited the Dream House corporate
office in Lilburn and met with its public
relations coordinator, Jeff Jansma. Jeff
showed me an introductory video about the
organization and its mission. I have seen
many such videos in my day, but this one
was exceptional. It was informative and
extremely inspiring.
During our meeting, I asked Jeff to
define a medically fragile child. He stated
that a medically fragile child is “any child,
who, because of an accident, illness, congenital
disorder, abuse, or neglect, has been
left in a stable condition, but dependent on
life-sustaining medication, treatment,
equipment, and the need for assistance with
activities of daily living.”
Dream House is the brainchild of Laura
Moore, a pediatric nurse of over 20 years.
She earned a master’s degree in nursing
education, was an associate professor, and
Serving The Community For Over 25 Years!
Adam Zukerman
President/General Managing Partner
5525 Peachtree Industrial Blvd.
Chamblee, GA 30341 770-451-2700
BY
Happy New Year!
Kevin Deutsch
Director of Operations
Bill
Sonenshine
Dream House children pictured with
(back row) Dream House CEO and
Founder Laura Moore, Atlanta
Braves’ Jeff Francoeur, and Delta
Captain Mike Doyle
Over 400 New Hondas In Inventory!
www.CurryHonda.com
spent a year working on a CDC fetal alcohol
research project. Laura said it was frustrating
to see kids saved by new medical
technology, only to be abandoned by relatives
who lacked the money or knowledge
to care for them.
One particular patient inspired Laura to
do something about this problem. Mickey
became a quadriplegic at age 14, due to a
gunshot wound to his neck. He lived in the
hospital for four-and-one-half years. He
became very depressed and tried to bribe
Laura to turn off his ventilator. “If I were a
dog,” she recalls him saying, “you would
treat me better and put me to sleep.”
After receiving support from her local
community, Laura established a specialized
foster home in Lilburn to provide a safe and
stable family-centered environment for
medically fragile foster children who were
ready to leave the hospital but had nowhere
to go. Laura and her husband, Mike, sold
their own home and moved into the Lilburn
Dream Foster House as the pilot foster family.
In early 2004, six-year-old Katie was
accepted as the home’s first foster child.
Suffering from a severe digestive disorder,
Katie was near death. The Moores provided
months of almost continual care. Katie ultimately
required two five-organ transplants,
the first occurring in January 2005. Now
nine years old, Katie is two-and-one-half
years post-transplant and doing very well.
The Moores adopted her in December 2006.
Laura’s next dream is building the
Dream House Resource Center, LLC. The
looming project is a planned campus in
Conyers, on 10 acres of donated land just
off Sigman Road. The center will provide
transition care and support services for children
and their families from all over the
state. Included on the campus are three transition
homes, one respite home, overnight
accommodations for family members while
they learn to care for their children before
taking them home, and a state-of-the-art
training facility that will provide educational
classrooms and a skills lab. Just over $5
million is needed to start this project. Laura
says there is not a campus or program like
this in the whole country.
So far, Dream House has served over
500 families and 540 children from 25
Georgia counties. “When these children
with special healthcare needs have a safe
and stable place they can call home,” Laura
said, “they become emotionally and mentally
healthier, which, in turn, improves their
physical health.”
The Dream House has received national
recognition. In January, the Moores were
featured in People Magazine as “Heroes
Among Us,” and Laura was chosen as
“Person of the Week” by Charlie Gibson
and ABC World News Tonight. Atlanta
Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur has teamed
up with Delta Air Lines to give Dream
House 25,000 Sky Miles every time he hits
a home run.
I asked PR coordinator Jansma for a
wish list. He said the families Dream House
Laura Moore was a keynote speaker
at the Health Care for Kids Rally at
the State Capitol in Atlanta,
November 4, 2006.
serves need funding for lifts in their vans
($15,000), specialized car seats ($500), hospital
beds ($5,000), and bedroom and bathroom
modifications ($5,000). They also
need help defraying the costs of childcare
training for family members. The Dream
House Family for Keeps course is $350 per
person. Jeff also said there are families
waiting to foster or adopt children, but they
also require training and equipment.
If you would like to make a donation or
participate in a fundraising event, contact
Jeff Jansma at 770-717-7410.
As we start our New Year, I knew you
would find the Dream House story uplifting.
When I left the interview with Jeff, I
knew I was going to do something besides
writing this article. Each of us should, at
every chance we can, engage in “Tikun
Olam”—repairing the world.