Children’s Miracle Network/Lions Guest House:
Continuing Venture
When loved ones require extended hospitalization, many of us face challenges beyond the obvious emotional stresses. First, there are the financial issues: hospital charges, doctors’ fees, and drug costs. Loss of income may be a factor, if the patient is a breadwinner. In addition to these usual economic threats, housing and transportation must often be added. People from outside the immediate area of the hospital may be forced to commute long distances to spend time with their loved ones.
If the patient is a child, the need for the presence of a responsible adult becomes critical. Children need more emotional support and parents must often make crucial decisions about treatment options.
For people who lack financial resources, these challenges are overwhelming. For those who can afford it, one obvious way to reduce travel is to stay in a hotel near the hospital. But what about those who cannot pay the added costs of hotel bills and restaurant meals?
This dilemma had long been a concern of officials at Eugene’s Sacred Heart Medical Center. When visitors to the area unexpectedly landed in the hospital, their friends and families sometimes found themselves marooned in a strange city with no affordable place to stay. Then there were the Oregon residents from outside the area facing similar problems.
Enter the Eugene Downtown Lions Club (EDLC) and other area Lions Clubs. In the year 2000, the EDLC made a $250,000 pledge toward Sacred Heart’s goal of $1,300,000 to fund the “Children’s Miracle Network/Lions Patient Family Guest House.”
The Guest House, converted from a former University of Oregon student-housing unit, became the much-needed facility for those who could not afford other options. Located at 1057 Patterson Street, the Guest House includes eleven guest rooms with baths, a children’s play area, a health information center/library, living and dining rooms, a full-scale kitchen, a laundry, and a courtyard overlooking the Millrace.
Several EDLC members were instrumental in the planning and fundraising required for this worthwhile project. The original co-chairs who provided leadership for the effort were Lions Yvonne Hamson and Bob Hixson. Lion Ed Gear was responsible for obtaining a $75,000 grant from the Lions Club International Foundation, and Lion Ralph Robinson also performed critical tasks.
Through direct member contributions and a variety of fundraising activities, the EDLC contributed over $157,000 to the funding. Other Lions Clubs pitched in with over $19,500. All told, the Lions’ gift was $251,641.09, surpassing the original pledge amount.
In the years since 2000, the Guest House has served a variety of people, some from foreign countries, some from distant states, but most from the five-county area surrounding Eugene. For example, from January of 2001 to July of 2007, the facility housed members of 921 area families. There is a continuing need for these services, particularly in these difficult economic times.
Now, a new challenge has emerged: Sacred Heart Medical Center has moved to its Springfield location at River Bend. The present Guest House is no longer convenient to the hospital, and residents are being shuttled from there to River Bend.
The answer to this problem, of course, is a new facility located adjacent to the new medical center. According to Lion Yvonne Hamson, who has continued to chair the project for the EDLC, Sacred Heart officials are considering a multi-use facility which might also house visiting doctors, who presently must be provided with hotel accommodations.
In the meantime, the EDLC has continued to support the Guest House with annual gifts to fill urgent needs. This past year, for example, the club helped purchase new blankets and bedding for the house.
As the new and improved Sacred Heart Medical Center finalizes its plans for an adjacent Guest House, the generosity and efforts of the EDLC will almost certainly play a role in creating this new facility, just as the vision and hard work of the club helped to create the current Guest House back in 2000.
Reporter: Lion Jim Newton
