The Rossi Guest House is part of a national non-profit organization that provides family-centered lodging and support services to families and patients who are far from home during their treatment. This month, the guest house, located in University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Robin Hennes manager of guest services at UI Hospitals and Clinics, talks about the guest house:
How did the idea of a guest house within UI Hospitals and Clinics come about?
It was about 15 years ago that Helen Rossi, one of the founders of the Volunteer Services Program here, and John Colloton and Ed Howell, former CEOs of the hospital, realized that we needed a resource under the roof of the hospital for the family members of our most seriously ill patients.
Where is the guest house located?
We’ve got 16 rooms that serve family members of the pediatric patient population and that’s our University of Iowa Children’s Hospital Family Suite on the fourth level of the south wing of General Hospital. We also have 14 rooms on the fifth level of the south wing of General Hospital, directly above the family suite, that serve the family members of our adult patients who are in our SICU and intensive care units.
Who is eligible to rent a room?
Generally, those family members. For example, UI Children’s Hospital Family Suite generally serves the family members of patients that are in our neonatal intensive care unit. On the adult side, family members whose loved ones are in our intensive care units. Those people are very appreciative of this resource at the hospital because they’re the ones who have to be close to their loved one. They often partner with the medical team and need the respite and release from the stress so they can be well rested to be part of the care team.
Can renters stay indefinitely, so long as they or a family member is in the hospital?
Unlike a hotel, we don’t take reservations because it would be very difficult for us to manage—we don’t know how long the patient will be here. The family members of our most seriously ill patients get first crack at the rooms, and then we triage a bit further from there—the age of the family member, their ability to get to and from the hospital, along with the severity of the illness. On any given day, we have a waiting list of 30 to 40 people for the Guest House.
Can rooms be reserved?
Yes, we do have a courtesy list that we work with numerous times a day. We run close to 100 percent occupancy because our rooms turn over so quickly. It’s a much needed resource.
How has the Rossi Guest House changed in its first 10 years?
We’ve made some improvements. Three years ago, we opened the 16 rooms for our pediatric families, which has been wonderful. We have a great partnership with the Ronald McDonald House right down the street. The addition of the Family Suite has just made it much easier for us to accommodate those young families whose patients are here at the hospital.
We’ve made improvements to our adult rooms, too. We used to have twin beds, for example, now we have full-sized beds and we made improvements to the rooms. When the guest Hosue first opened, it was run by volunteers and they did a wonderful job and continue to do a wonderful job. We’ve been fortunate that we’ve assigned dedicated housekeepers that keep up with the laundry and pay great attention to the facility. Not only do we have comfortable rooms at the Rossi Guest House, but the camaraderie and the compassionate support of the staff and volunteers is as much a part of the healing process as the wonderful things our medical teams do here.
How many families do you think have used the adult and children’s guest rooms in the past 10 years?
We’re getting close to 12,000 families that we’ve accommodated. It’s just absolutely wonderful—their very appreciative. Some people are surprised when they get to the hospital, and obviously most of them are under a great deal of stress, they don’t know that this resource is even available to them. Just to be able to have a private shower, a private phone with voice mail capabilities; it helps them stay rested.
Are there plans to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the opening of the Rossi Guest House? What are they?
Yes, on Monday the 17th we’ll have an open house for our faculty, staff, and volunteers of the Guest House. Then we have a week of mini celebrations for our guests that will be there, mostly involving food. We’ll treat them on each day of the week. It’s an opportunity for us to recognize the wonderful contributions of not only the volunteers of the Helen Rossi Guest House, and Helen herself, but all of the great contributions that all of our volunteers do throughout the hospital. |
