BARRY WILLIAMS /Special

Laura Moore founded Dream House for Medically Fragile Children in 2001. "When they're in a loving home, the children are emotionally happier, so they're not as sick. They not only survive; they thrive," she said.

"We can save children now through advancements in technology, but what kind of life are we saving them for?" That's what Laura Moore began asking herself when she was caring for medically fragile children as a nurse at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

By definition, a medically fragile child is one who has suffered an accident, illness, congenital disorder, abuse or neglect that has left him or her dependent on life-sustaining therapy, medication or equipment that necessitates support for daily living. There are about 6,000 of these children in Georgia, and about 800 live in institutional settings. Others are shuttled between hospitals and foster homes that aren't adequately prepared to care for them.

Seeing the result of a failed support system, Moore's heart ached for children who had been abandoned, were hurting and felt hopeless.

"One child begged me to turn off his ventilator, saying if he were a dog, I'd put him to sleep," said Moore, BSN, MN.

Moore's dream was to see these children live in real homes, where they could be cared for and loved by families who were supported — through training, resources and funding — to help them cope with the emotional and financial challenges.

She founded the Dream House for Medically Fragile Children in 2001 in Lilburn. The nonprofit organization provides a transitional foster home for medically fragile children while helping their parents, foster parents or adoptive parents learn to care for them.

Dream House staff teach Family for Keeps, a three-day course that provides education and tools for families and caregivers of medically fragile children.

"We talk about the growth and development in a normal child and the differences they can expect to see in a medically fragile child," Moore said. "We teach them how to help their child grow and develop.

"We also teach them the skills they will need to physically care for a child whose life depends on technology or medication. Our parents are so passionate and eager to learn."

By partnering with churches and other community organizations, writing grants and raising funds, Dream House also helps parents renovate their homes, pay for treatments and purchase necessary equipment and supplies.

One of Dream House's fund-raising projects is a 2007 calendar, which features watercolor landscapes by Barb Lincoln and sells for $20.

Dream House has sponsored about 150 foster homes and helped 200 children. Its education courses have stretched throughout metro Atlanta and are now offered as a certificate class through Georgia Perimeter College's continuing education program.

"People told me that it couldn't be done, that others had tried to create agencies and never made it out of the planning stages. I told them I would do it if I had to change Georgia state law, and I did," Moore said.

Realizing that there were no established standards or licensure in Georgia for agencies to support medically fragile children, Moore began advocating her cause with the Georgia Office of Regulatory Services.

"A few agencies were operating with a waiver, but that is dangerous because there was no one to say they were providing good-quality care," Moore said. "Now we have a license and are writing the regulations for appropriate care."

Having standards and a license, under which agencies can legally operate and seek funding, should encourage new agencies to open around the state.

"I believe we'll see more resources, programs and support systems in place within communities so that biological families can get the support that they need and don't have to give their kids up to foster care," Moore said. "It's been an evolving project, but my vision is to drastically reduce the numbers of children in foster care. This licensure is going to help keep families together."

Moore has also been educating government leaders in the state Department of Family and Children Services and the Department of Human Resources on the high costs of institutional care ($1,500 to $2,500 per child per day) vs. appropriately equipped home care ($150 to $250 per child per day).

She believes that her model works; it not only saves taxpayers money but also is better for children.

"I get the greatest satisfaction watching the parents love these children," Moore said. "When they're in a loving home, the children are emotionally happier, so they're not as sick. They not only survive; they thrive."