Groundbreaking for Hope House,

a long-awaited children's addition to Southwest Christian Hospice in Union

City, will be Thursday, Oct. 18 at 11 a.m.

Organizers are planning a 30-minute

ceremony involving families involved with Hope House's home-based care

program, local politicians, board members and volunteers.

Angela Ewers, event coordinator,

announced that Dr. John Potts, medical director of Hope House, Dr. Jim

Dyer of Southwest Christian Hospice and state Rep. Lynn Westmoreland will

speak briefly at the groundbreaking.

Elected representatives from

Clayton County and Union City also are expected to attend.

Hope House will be a respite

care center for dozens of children afflicted with life threatening conditions,

next to the existing hospice building. Currently, there is only one room

allocated for pediatric care at Southwest Christian Hospice, but a home

care program has been in operation for several years attending to children

in a 12-county area.

The center, supported by area

churches, will provide a much-needed place for fragile children to stay

for a few days or as along as two weeks, to allow parents a little time

off from the grueling 24-hour-a-day task of caring for a seriously ill

child.

Plans call for an eight-bedroom

wing, complete with 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 a chapel. Staffing

will include a care manager and nursing staff, pediatric nurses, nursing

assistants, a social worker, physiotherapist, chaplain and support staff.