Laura Moore founded the Dream House for Medically Fragile Children, Inc. (Dream House) in 2001 as a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the opportunities for medically fragile children to live in a stable, permanent home environment through the development of support resources and programs which increase the number of families and communities prepared to care for them.
While advancing medical technology has saved the lives of children who would not have survived in years past, these children are now dependant on this technology for survival. As a result of their increased levels of care, many of their families can no longer care for them. Increasing numbers of these children are being placed in state custody and sadly, lack of available training and resources prevent many foster or adoptive families from accepting these children as well. Thus, these precious children who have lost their health also lose their home, their family and their hope.
As a pediatric nurse, Laura saw the system failing the very children it was supposed to protect and created Dream House as a solution. Through three unique programs and tremendous advocacy, Laura has created an organization that is striving to reduce the number of medically fragile children in foster care, keep them out of institutional care, improve the quality of life for these children and their families, and save the State of Georgia, the tax payers, and healthcare institutions millions of dollars each year.
Dream House features the following programs:
• Family for Keeps™: Georgia’s first comprehensive, community based, health care focused, family-centered training for caretakers (parents, relatives, teachers, daycare workers, case managers) of medically fragile children. Includes a center-based skills lab experience to assist caregivers in learning basic care techniques and utilizing common healthcare equipment.
• Bridging the Gap: A special health care acquisition program to assist families in acquiring durable medical equipment, health care supplies, and home modifications.
• Transition Care: Specially equipment homes providing temporary foster care for medically fragile children until a permanent biological or adoptive family can be prepared (by Dream House staff) to care for them in their own homes.
Since the inception of Dream House, Laura and her family (husband Michael and biological children- Hayden 19 years and Anna 17 years) have themselves cared for 12 medically fragile foster children and just adopted one, Katie, an eight year old little girl who is the miraculous survivor of two, back-to-back, five organ transplants. Laura took care of Katie for the ten months prior to the transplants, accompanied Katie to Miami, Florida for the transplant surgeries and remained in Miami for almost 4 months during her recovery.
In addition, Laura’s advocacy efforts have included creating a statewide definition of a medically fragile child and changing state licensing regulations to included standards for the provision of care for medically fragile children in the state of Georgia. She has also helped to establish the first Chapter for Medically Fragile Children through the Georgia Association of Homes and Services for Children. This Chapter allows providers from all over the state the opportunity to network and collaborate in developing creative solutions to address the needs of these children. Thanks to Laura, Dream House and other public and private agencies throughout Georgia can more effectively provide programs and support services for medically fragile children and their families.
While Dream House programs have served over 400 families caring for more than 500 medically fragile children in 21 Georgia counties and provided referrals for several children in other states, Laura Moore continues to expand state resources for these children and families. Dream House will soon establish the Dream House Resource Center in Conyers, Georgia, to serve children with special healthcare needs and their families from all over Georgia. This campus will include: three transition care homes; one respite care home; overnight accommodations for family members while they learn the care of their child before taking them home; and, a state-of-the art training facility that will provide classrooms and a skills lab for the ‘Family for Keeps™ program.
Laura Moore has dedicated her life and works tirelessly to establishing Dream House as a replicable model for states across the U.S. In achieving this vision, she and Dream House will improve the lives of thousands of children, their families, and communities throughout the nation. Laura has raised more than $1 million for Dream House, was recently featured in the January 8th issue of People Magazine as a ‘Hero Among Us’ and was chosen as ‘Person of the Week’ by ABC News World News Tonight on January 5th. She was also awarded the ‘Leadership Character Award’ for Non-Profits in the Metro Atlanta area on February 5th.
To learn more about Laura and her cause, and how you can make a difference, please visit:
www.dreamhouseforkids.org
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