 | | 
|  |
| |  | | 
| | | (SPECIAL/Jeff Gaines Photography)
At a fundraiser for the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute in Atlanta, FDR’s grandson, Delano Roosevelt, center, pledged his family foundation’s support. From left are Warm Springs Institute board member Dr. Burton McDaniel, Judy McDaniel, Roosevelt, Stephanie Moss and Grady Moss. (click for larger version) | |
April 09, 2008
ATLANTA -- The Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute has not only continued as a comprehensive medical and vocational rehabilitation facility since 1927, but now it wants to expand its role to help Iraq War veterans. And an Alpharetta doctor specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation is taking a leading role.
Warm Springs may be the only working rehabilitation center (it treats about 5,000 patients annually) that is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
Dr. Burton McDaniel sits on the Warm Springs Institute's board of directors and is also the state's consultant to investigate how a partnership may work between the institute and the military. He also served 15 years as the director of North Fulton Regional Hospital's Medical Rehabilitation and was named Atlanta Magazine's Top Doctor in his field.
It is McDaniel's job to report on the suitability of the institute's facilities for the mission envisioned.
Airborne and Green Beret units have especially shown interest in the plan since both are headquartered at nearby Fort Benning in Columbus.
"The airborne troops and Green Berets have an esprit de corps that centers on the idea that once an airborne trooper or Beret, you are always one. So if they are wounded, they like the idea that they would be treated near Fort Benning," said McDaniel. "But talks are still very informal. They do have the capacity at Warm Springs and the Pentagon has been down to visit."
Fort Benning is planning to enlarge its base. With the proximity of the institute, it could easily serve the Army's needs, he said. It could be possible that part of the 1,000-acre campus could be taken over by the military and placed under military administration.
So perhaps it is no coincidence that the facility is getting a $20 million renovation with state and federal money.
Fellow board member and Alpharetta-Duluth businessman J. Bruce Williams Jr. calls the Warm Springs Institute "one of Georgia's crown jewels that no one knows about."
"We have facilities and quarters that are already meet ADA[Americans with Disabilities Act] standards," Bruce said.
There are also cottages on the campus that would allow the military to bring soldiers' families to stay during rehabilitation, Burton said.
Facilities include ADA-receptive pools, a 7,500-square-foot therapeutic recreation center and a 100-acre ADA-adaptable summer camp.
More good news came the institute's way when the grandson of FDR, H. Delano Roosevelt, was the keynote speaker at a recent fundraiser (which raised $220,000) and told institute officials the Roosevelt Foundation wanted to be a part of making Warm Springs a world-class facility.
After touring the institute last December, he said his family wanted to take part in bringing Warm Springs to the next level.
"When we get our ducks in a row, there is going to be a lot of enthusiasm [in Washington]," Delano Roosevelt said. "My personal commitment is to stand shoulder to shoulder to go anywhere, anytime to show the rest of the nation the vision my grandfather had in 1927. We have a great deal to offer the world."
The Roosevelt Warm Springs Development Fund board has embarked on an ambitious program that will lead to restoring buildings on its 950-acre campus and will provide new medical equipment for its rehabilitation hospital. One of the improvement goals is to be able to extend the Institute's services to Iraq war veterans returning home with life-altering injuries.
Senior Judge James Oxendine, the Institute's chairman of the board said, "We're carrying on FDR's strong legacy of helping people at Warm Springs. This truly is a place of hope that embraces entire families."
- www.northfulton.com
|
