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

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

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

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.