The J.D. McCarty Center has one bed in its facility dedicated to providing a break for family members of the center's patients -- disabled children who require exponentially more time and energy than an able-bodied youngster.

All of that is set to change.

Curt Peters, director and chief operating officer of JDMC, recently announced plans to begin construction on Camp ClapHans, a $4.5 million campsite -- tailor-made for special needs children -- situated on 25 acres in the southwest section of JDMC's property on the banks of a "proven fishing hole."

"I'm still hoping to have a groundbreaking by the end of summer, but depending on some things, we might wait until October for better weather," Peters said.

He said $3.8 million already has been raised, mostly through the center's revenues and donations.

Marketing Director Greg Gaston said plans to raise the additional $830,000 are already in the works, although nothing has been finalized.

"The balance will be raised through fundraising efforts," he said. "We have some groups that have been targeted and some of them may have an interest in getting involved with the center."

The first phase is expected to be finished 12 to 18 months after construction begins.

A long time coming

Camp ClapHans isn't something that any one person thought of more than 10 years ago.

In fact, ask the administrators whom to credit for the concept of Camp ClapHans and you get the feeling it's a collective brainchild, something arrived upon naturally after years and years of listening to the parents of the center's patients.

Vicki Kuestersteffen, the center's deputy director, has been working at JDMC for the past 15 years.

"This camp was born from us serving the families that come here every day, finding out what services they want for their children," she said.

"Most of the children here wouldn't be able to do these kinds of things, so we really wanted to incorporate a camp experience for them."

Camp ClapHans, whose activities will all be therapy-based, will look like your average camp -- it'll have cabins, a mess hall and an arts and crafts center -- but it will be anything but typical, Peters said.