Children's Healthcare of Forsyth to Open June 1

What a day to dream!

Tuesday was the kind of day where one dream comes true and another bigger, bolder dream begins.

As dozens of government, business and civic leaders gathered outside the new 20,000-square-foot Children's Healthcare of Forsyth facility at The Avenue Forsyth, they learned that it had been the dream of a nurse from Forsyth County, Linda Cole.

Forsyth Community Board Chairman Mary Helen McGruder, said, "It was a dream that brought us here today. The dream of a nurse as she drove to Atlanta every day to do her work to help others in another county. That dream may have taken years to become a reality, but today the dream of Linda Cole comes true. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is ready to open its doors."

The facility will open to the public on June 1.

Donna Hyland, president and CEO of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, said she worked with Cole for 25 years.

"About every week, I heard about doing something in Forsyth," she said. "Linda is what makes Children's Healthcare so special and thank goodness, we have several thousand Linda's. They all make Children's Healthcare such a special place."

Cumming Mayor Ford Gravitt said, "We're excited about this and looking forward to the future. We dream big here in Forsyth County and even we couldn't have dreamed this big a few years ago."

When it was Cole's turn to speak, she didn't take credit. Nor did she rest on her laurels.

"This has truly been overwhelming, the support we have received to make this dream a reality," she said. "But this is just a seed. What you see behind us is just a seed of bigger things to come."

Cole, who now serves as Vice President of Ambulatory and Emergency Services, is already starting to dream about the day when Forsyth County has a full-service children's healthcare facility.

Everything in the facility is specialized for children from infancy through age 21. With extended hours and 15 exam rooms, it will provide quick access to emergency care.

Rehabilitation services offer child-friendly features such as a rock-climbing wall and specialized gyms, including a sensory gym with a pediatric zip line and swings. Sports physical therapists offer athletes of all skill levels sport-specific, return-to-play exercise and conditioning programs as well as preventive programs for a variety of conditions.