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Kathleen Fleiszar retired from Kennesaw State University after 30 years on the faculty of CSM. In the years of teaching biology and running her own consulting firm, Medical Genetics, she had no idea she would be embarking on a new mission to found Atlanta's first freestanding pediatric respite and palliative care home.

A long-time volunteer for Wellstar Community Hospice and local disabilities organizations, Kathleen first heard about a care home providing respite and palliative care for pediatric patients from a Phoenix newspaper article. At the time, there were only 2 such homes in the United States. After touring the Phoenix facility (Ryan House) in 2017, she began to build a team to plan for a similar home in Georgia.

Today, Kathleen serves as Acting Executive Director and co-founder of Life House Atlanta. There are no free-standing respite homes for pediatric palliative care patients (PPC) in the state of Georgia, and only two nationally certified PPC nurses in the metro Atlanta area who provide care for these families. As a result, caregivers of PPC patients are an unseen and underserved population.

Kathleen's passion for supporting families with children who have life-limiting illness comes from a deep understanding and breadth of experience in the world of grief and loss. "The value of adult respite and hospice care organizations is understood by the general public. There is, however, little awareness of the lack of respite for pediatric patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families. There are no such homes in Georgia. My goal is to change that and provide a place for their children to spend time in a safe and caring environment and an opportunity for families to recharge on a vacation get-away."

When she's not busy running an all-volunteer organization, Kathleen remains actively involved with the Cobb Chamber, Kennesaw Business Association, North Cobb Civitan Club, and Cobb Collaborative. She also participates in KSU's retiree association and has generously supported initiatives at CSM and KSU since 1993. To read more about Kathy and say hello to this former colleague (or volunteer alongside her), visit Life House Atlanta.