Guest House

Providing subsidized medical lodging near Chicago's major hospitals is more than just a service of convenience it is a service that enables hundreds of patients and families to access life-saving treatment every year. Through our programs, Guest House aims to accomplish the following:

1) Ensure equitable access to advanced healthcare. Guest House's medical lodging increases access to advanced healthcare by reducing the financial burden of medical-related lodging for income-qualified families. One such family came to Chicago while their daughter was receiving treatment for Neimann-Pick. They shared, "We come from modest means, and the cost of traveling here plus the treatment expenses have been staggering. Staying at IMD Guest House made it possible for our daughter to receive world-class care with Dr. Berry-Kravis and for both of us to be here for every treatment."

2) Reduce stress. Serious illness and hospitalization are profoundly distressing life events. Guest House helps patients and families reduce the stress of facing a serious illness by providing social support programming. More than 800 volunteers over the course of a year provide daily meals and opportunities for support and healing, such as fitness classes, arts and crafts, and faith-based events. While participation in these activities is optional, 80% of guests participate, demonstrating the value these opportunities provide. As one guest shared, "Being able to talk to other parents about what they're going through and sharing information and resources have been blessings to us. We live in a pretty small town, so we were able to find a community here with people who really understand what we're going through."

3) Improve physical and emotional health. Research shows that affordable short-term lodging for patients and families significantly improves health, quality of life, and financial wellness. Ensuring family members can stay close to their loved ones during advanced treatment allows for more family engagement in patients' healthcare experiences, which leads to improved emotional and physical outcomes for family members and patients (Epstein & Street, 2008). Guest House's services are especially impactful for families with a child receiving advanced healthcare. Parents of hospitalized children report better sleep and benefits to the overall family's well-being when they can stay near the hospital where their child is receiving treatment (Franck et al., 2014; 2013). Parents also report keeping families together during a serious illness was critical to their child's recovery (Franck et al., 2013).

Guest House's core strategy is to provide a home away from home for patients receiving hospital-based care and their families. Guest House serves patients receiving treatment at Cook County Hospital, Rush Medical Center, the UChicago Medicine, and UI Health. We also partner with American Cancer Society and Gift-of-Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network. Patients/families learn of Guest House through referral agents at partner hospitals and healthcare providers. Referral partners work closely with Guest Services Managers to discuss patient/family needs, including length of stay, number of family members, and relevant medical details that help Guest House choose the best available apartment for patients and families. Our standard rate of $72/night is a tremendous value. Yet even that amount is unaffordable for many of the families we serve, who receive subsidized rates based on their incomes. We believe no patient should face an illness alone, and no family should be forced to sleep in their car or a hospital waiting room during such a stressful time. Whether a family can pay the full rate, a discounted amount, or nothing at all, all patients and families are welcomed into a community of empathy and care.

Guest House's operations and programming are sustained through a diverse set of revenue streams. Under the guidance of the Director of Development, Guest House executes an annual fundraising plan that consists of individual giving, grants, corporate contributions, and events. Guest House also ensures financial sustainability through partnerships with Rush, Stroger, University of Illinois, University of Chicago, and Gift of Hope. Our partners recognize the critical role Guest House plays in ensuring equitable healthcare access and are able to provide financial subsidies to support a portion of our programming.

Guest House also works diligently to allocate resources and monitor expenses so that we can subsidize lodging as much as possible. Guest House occupies the first four floors of a single student residency building at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The housing location and rental agreement with UIC enable Guest House to receive security and facility support, allowing us to keep costs low.

Guest Houses multi-disciplinary staff play a key role in ensuring we meet our organizational and programmatic goals. Staff work collaboratively to sustain operations and attend to guests' needs. Staff members are supported by a diverse and dedicated Board of Directors and more than 800 volunteers, whose efforts are coordinated by Guest House's Volunteer Manager. Guest House is also supported by more than 200 referral partners at local hospitals who help families coordinate their stay.

Guest House was founded in 1999 in partnership with Rush University Medical Center, John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, and University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. In 2005, Guest House began providing affordable lodging to families of patients, starting with the parents of a baby born at 26 weeks who was treated in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Since then, NICU and other pediatric patients and their families have been a core service population, along with cancer patients, organ transplant recipients, and military veterans. In 2011, Guest House expanded into the first four floors of a student residence building on University of Illinois at Chicago's campus, which allowed us to increase our capacity to 47 lodging units. Guest House partnered with Editha House Foundation one year later, ensuring patients receiving care at any Chicago-area hospital can stay at Guest House. Guest House began providing lodging for the Road Home Program at the Center for Veterans & their Families at Rush University Medical Center in 2016. Our continued growth and partnership development have allowed Guest House to provide nearly 100,000 nights of lodging to 6,000+ patients and families from all over the world.

Guest House will continue to focus on expanding and enhancing our affordable, short-term lodging service for patients and families. One way we will do this is by continuously improving accessibility through projects such as converting tub/shower combinations to barrier-free showers with grip rails. These projects will improve facility accessibility and thus better meet the needs of patients/families with mobility limitations. Guest House also seeks to build partnerships with additional healthcare organizations, including those that emphasize physical rehabilitation for victims of traumatic injury, stroke, and other illnesses that impact mobility. Finally, Guest House is working to improve wireless service connectivity to support greater access to telemedicine and videoconferencing for guests.