Kathy's House

Description

Kathy's House is a hospital hospitality house, created in memory of Kathy Vogel Kuettner, a young wife and mother of three whose battle with an aggressive form of lymphoma ended with her death in July 2000. Kathy' s family and friends worked tirelessly to open the doors one year later on July 1, 2001. The result was Kathy's House, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization operating a hospital hospitality house in her memory. Local medical professionals view Kathy' s House as a valuable community resource. Guests are referred by hospital staff (social services, nursing staff, or physicians), and may stay as long as hospital treatment continues, either as an inpatient or a monitored outpatient. While sharing the facility, guests often provide comfort and guidance to each other. Even before its first anniversary, Kathy' s House had established a unique partnership with area hospitals and medical institutions. Kathy's House provides its guests with privacy and comfort in eighteen individual suites, each with its own bathroom, and large enough to accommodate up to four adults/children. A communal kitchen, dining room and gathering room with fireplace are available, along with a mediation room, media room, computer center, exercise area, offices, laundry facility, recreation area and outdoor parking. While guests care for their living areas, there are still many duties required to maintain the building and services. The facility depends on community volunteers who generously give a combined total of 400-500 hours each month. Student interns live on site and provide around the clock on-call house management services. All of these duties are performed exclusively by volunteers, since Kathy's House does not have paid employees.