OAHHS Hospital Voice Fall/Winter 2019

28 » A magazine for and about Oregon Community Hospitals. HOSPITAL SPOTLIGHTS, CONT. PEACEHEALTH  THE HEARTFELT HOUSE ON PEACEHEALTH’S RIVERBEND CAMPUS PROVIDES REST AND HEALING FOR PATIENTS’ FAMILIES The Heartfelt House, PeaceHealth’s new patient family guest house in Springfield, opened its doors in September, welcoming its first 12 families. The 20-room guest house is a spectacular resource for families who are traveling from other parts of Oregon or from out of state to be near loved ones receiving care at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield or University District in Eugene. “This beautiful, welcoming home provides a place of comfort and healing for families who are facing trying times—the new parents of a fragile infant in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the grief- stricken loved ones of a trauma patient and sometimes patients themselves, who need a good night’s rest before an early morning surgery or are here for outpatient treatments unavailable in their community,” said Mary Kingston, chief executive of PeaceHealth Oregon network. The 20,200-square-foot, single-level guest house is just a five-minute walk away from Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend. It offers family members of both adult and pediatric patients a no- cost “home away from home,” with spacious private rooms, kitchen and dining areas, and places to relax both indoors and outdoors. “I just cried when I walked in,” said Heather Swesso, of Sutherlin, who attended the Heartfelt House grand opening celebration with her daughters, Makenna and Paisley. “It’s amazing how much thought went into it.” Both of Swesso’s daughters were born prematurely, requiring stays in RiverBend’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Her youngest, Paisley, born at 30 weeks, spent 78 days in the NICU after her birth in January 2016. Swesso says she was grateful to be able to stay at her aunt’s house in Springfield during that time. But even the short drive from her aunt’s house to the hospital felt like an eternity to the new mom eager to check on her newborn. “The Heartfelt House is going to make life a bit easier for people who Designed by the Eugene-based architecture firm 2fORM, the Heartfelt House has two wings of 10 guest suites on either side of a great room, which has a large stone fireplace as its central feature. Each wing has its own kitchen, dining room, lounges, and laundry facilities.