Home
away from Home
By
Lisa Coon of the Peoria Journal Star - originally published May 13, 2001
- reprinted by permission from the Peoria Journal Star
Copyright 2001 Peoria Journal Star
Reprinted with permission, no
other republication of any kind permitted.
If the walls
of Family House could talk, they'd share the stories of thousands of guests who
have laughed, prayed, cried and grieved during a stay at their "home away
from home." The stories could be that of the young parents from Quincy
whose first baby was born with a life-threatening condition, or of the elderly
Ottawa man whose wife of 50 years was recovering from a debilitating stroke, or
of the South Dakota man whose son was injured in a severe car accident.
The welcome
mat, says Peggy Murphy, Family House executive director, is always out at the
not-for-profit organization.
The home, at
1509 N. Knoxville Ave., just blocks away from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center
and Methodist Medical Center and minutes from Proctor Hospital, is a place where
families of patients admitted to one of the area's hospitals or nursing homes
can stay. Patients receiving outpatient treatment also can stay at Family House.
The cost is $15 a night per room. An attached apartment rents for $30 a
night.
For people
such as Crystle Wells and Gruen Von Behrens, the house has been a haven.
Von
Behrens,
23, was in Peoria recently for two weeks of daily hyperbaric oxygen chamber
treatments to treat the open wounds in his mouth and along his neck that
resulted from surgery and radiation to remove cancer of the tongue and throat.
He has undergone eight surgeries since January, and the hyperbaric oxygen
treatments help stimulate the growth of new red blood cells needed to heal his
wounds, according to Wells, his fiancee.
"We
heard about Family House through a respiratory therapist in Springfield. She
knew we'd be coming up here for treatment, and she gave us a list of places to
go," said Wells, 22.
The couple is
from Stewartson, just outside of Effingham, and the thought of staying in a
motel for a week was
not only undesirable, but also costly.
"I
love it here," Wells said. "These places are great. When you have to
come up here, it puts a strain on you, and whenever you can come to a home
environment…a place that feels so homey. You can come and go as you want. Cook
dinner if you want to."
Wells'
3-year-old son, Ethan, stayed with the couple at the house during their second
week. They enjoyed the time exploring Peoria and finding fun and interesting
things for him to do.
"It's
just been great, and the staff there is so nice," Wells said. "They
don't get a lot of publicity because the people who stay there aren't from here,
so people here just don't know much about it."
In
fact, the house has been in operation since June 1985, when the Junior League
saw a need for a place like Family House.
"The
Junior League put together the backbone and the community work and brought
people together that wanted to bring about a family house," Murphy said.
"The goal was to provide a home atmosphere at a low cost, but also to stay
true to our vision of providing hospitality to our guests."
A search for
a suitable location began, and the house on Knoxville Avenue was found and
purchased from John Murphy.
Built in
1894, the four-story red stone mansion was designed by Warren Milner, a Peoria
architect, for Peter E. Spurck and his family.
Spurck started the Spurck Street Paving Co., which provided bricks for
the paving of Peoria's streets.
With more
than 8,000 square feet, the home was accented with crystal and stained-glass
windows, spacious rooms, beautiful oak woodwork and a prestigious tower. At one
point in its history, the house was converted into apartments.
Today, the
home has 14 bedrooms, four kitchens, six bathrooms, two living rooms, a playroom
and laundry , facilities. An
efficiency apartment with a separate entrance also is available. Guests are
responsible for their own food.
With floor
names such as Faith, Love, Hope and Peace, the goal of the Family House is
obvious the moment guests walk through the front door.
"It's
such a good use for a home because that's the atmosphere we want to provide, not
just a place with rooms," Murphy said. "These guests need your time
and concern for their needs. We
have a 24-hour staff here to primarily assist them if they get a call from the
hospital -getting them back over there.
"Here,
they have the comfort of establishing their own routine," she said.
"If you've not gone through this, you don't know what it's like to spend
all day at the hospital. Our guests come back, and they're just worn out as if
they've run a marathon."
Last year,
Family House was a haven for 1,350 guests (788 families). In 1999, the house had its largest occupancy with 1,915
guests (1,024 families).
The largest
number of guests, 50 percent, stay at Family House because their children are
receiving medical treatment. Cardiac
care is the second most common reason for stays, accounting for 28 percent.
Patients also come from afar for neurosurgery, general surgery, trauma,
premature births and other medical conditions related to preemies.
Guests have registered from 26 states; most often, however, guests are
from nearby Ottawa, LaSalle-Peru, Marseilles and Spring Valley. The average length of stay is five days; however, some guests
have stayed more than five months.
Because it's
a not-for-profit organization, Family House relies on in-kind donations and its
room charge to cover the costs of operating the home with a 24-hour paid staff.
Its only fundraiser is a run/walk held in memory of Carolyn Mannlein, a
volunteer who developed a financial system and coordinated volunteers during
Family House's early years.
This year's
12th annual Carolyn Mannlein Memorial Race begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, [May 19th,
2001]. It features a 5K run, 5K walk, one-mile fitness walk, one-mile children's
race and a children's fun run.
The goal is
to attract 350 to 450 runners and walkers to raise more than $20,000, Murphy
said.
"The
money that is raised is important to be able to keep the (nightly rate) at the
current level," Murphy said. "We're lucky to have a board and local
people who are most generous with assisting this effort when they know their own
families will never have to stay here. They're doing it for the neighbors
they'll never have to meet."
And people
like Crystle Wells and Gruen Von Behrens are grateful for those who support
Family House.
"It's
been like a home away from home," Wells said.
Two
journeys…one destination
By
Gary Wright - reprinted by permission from Schuster Media Group
My
introduction to Family House came quite literally out of thin air. It was
June 30, 1999. After several days in Colorado’s breathtaking high country, our
family was to spend the night in Colorado Springs before flying back to Peoria
the next day.
My wife’s heart attack that evening changed
everything.
A medical crisis is stress enough. To have it
detonate hundreds of miles from home is positively numbing. My son and I
followed the ambulance through a tangle of darkened streets to an unfamiliar
hospital. We sat through the explanations and the diagrams and the disbelief,
then tried to rest overnight in the coarse fluorescence of the Coronary
Intensive Care waiting room.
Once my wife’s condition stabilized, we were
confronted with some practical details. For example, we would be here for a
week. Where would we stay? Was there a hotel nearby? The answer was Stearman
House. This neatly kept, ‘50s era home is maintained through the good graces
and charitable contributions of benefactors who have surely walked a few miles
in someone else’s shoes. It is situated on the edge of the hospital property,
a five-minute walk to the ICU. It offers six bedrooms up and two down, with all
the comforts of home. All this at a fraction of the cost of an economy motel.
This personal experience with a hospital hospitality
house resonated deeply. Since my Colorado ordeal had made me a
“constituent,” I quickly accepted the opportunity to serve on Peoria’s
Family House board last year.
Built in 1894 as a private home by industrial magnate
Peter Spurck, Family House is an imposing, 8100-square-foot Victorian
architectural treasure. The soaring, four-story red stone exterior seems to have
anticipated the home’s lofty 20th century mission of providing
low-cost accommodations and emotional ballast to families of patients in Peoria
hospitals and nursing homes. The $15 per-night guest room cost has not increased
in 10 years.
What began as a project of the Junior League of
Peoria, with support from the three city hospitals, became a reality in 1985
when Family House, 1509 N. Knoxville Avenue, opened its doors to the first
resident. Family House offers 14 guest rooms, six bathrooms, a private apartment, four living room/lounges, kitchens,
laundry and playroom. The home’s gracious appointments include rich oak
woodwork, elegant marble fireplaces, and original stained glass windows. A
survivor of the relentless commercial “progress” along North Knoxville
Avenue, Family House exudes permanence, serenity and stability. Fittingly, this
is precisely the right prescription for out-of-towners who have been wrested
from their own homes when a loved one is hospitalized in Peoria.
But Family House is much more than a $15-a-night
room. It’s an emotional mooring point where people with common experiences can
bond and commiserate. It’s a 24-hour refuge with free hospital shuttle service
and a dedicated staff ready to provide assistance. And yes, it’s an escape. A
welcome reprieve from the sterile, clinical, urgent and chaotic grasp of the
hospital environment. Caregivers need a period of solitude and reflection. They
need a chance to regenerate, interact with people who are not patients, project
and process their own concerns and anxieties. Family House gives them the
private space they seek when they want to pull back. And emotional support when
it’s time for them to reach out. Residents may stay for a night or two, or
much longer, depending on the patient’s medical situation. One lady made
Family House her home for ten months.
Guests embark on two journeys when they check into
Family House. The first is that anxious trek from their own homes to face the
uncertainties of a loved one’s hospitalization in Peoria. The second is an
inward journey into self. It leads to reflection, evaluation, and a quest for
regained equilibrium. Because the Family House mission transcends simply
providing low-cost lodging, it is a destination where the rigors of both
journeys can be softened.
Executive Director Peggy Murphy
says Family House room occupancy averaged 85% last year. Roomers are mostly from
Illinois and neighboring states, but Family House has welcomed visitors from 26
states, including such far-flung locations as Texas, California, Alaska and
Hawaii. In the year 2000, Family House hosted 1350 residents representing 788
families. Fifty percent of these are attending children who are receiving
medical treatment at Peoria hospitals. Cardiac care patients’ families account
for 28% of the roomers. Patients also come from afar to receive care for
neurosurgery, general surgery, trauma, premature births and other preemie
problems.
Operating and staff
expenses are an unpleasant reality even for non-profit organizations. Family
House is able to sustain operations thanks to the selfless contributions of a
core group of private and corporate benefactors. A major annual fundraising
event is the Carolyn Mannlein Memorial 5K race. Ms. Mannlein was a dedicated
volunteer in Family House’s formative years. This year’s event, held May 19
at the Clubs at River City, attracted 300 participants including 190 runners,
and netted more than $16,000. Other organizations, like the Phi Gamma Delta
Fraternity at Bradley University (see sidebar) give of their time with special
events and efforts to fuel the continuing mission. The Family House crusade will
endure as long as hospitals admit patients.
Among the challenges that lie ahead is how to respond
to an Illinois Department of Transportation project that will reconfigure
Knoxville Avenue to accommodate the overhaul of I-74. The construction will
virtually eliminate the home’s front yard and sharply reduce access and egress
options.
The Knoxville project could be providential. With
consistently high occupancy rates and pinched property boundaries, it will be
increasingly difficult to deliver the Family House formula to all who deserve
it. The board of directors is considering various relocation and building
options. Whatever the outcome, the basic imperatives must be met: low-cost
lodging, proximity to the hospitals, resident comfort, privacy and safety.
As a Peoria area resident, you most likely will never
use the services of Family House. But you can be proud that your community, like
Colorado Springs and so many others around the country, has recognized and
embraced the concept of the hospital hospitality house. To more than 1300 guests
last year alone, Family House represents the very best of Peoria.
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