OAHHS Hospital Voice Fall/Winter 2019

29 Fall/Winter 2019 are going through a rough time,” Swesso said. “They don’t have to travel back and forth. They have a place to stay where they can get a good night’s rest. They can go back to the guest house and take a nap when things get overwhelming.” 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. One wing is for families of pediatric patients and the other is for families of adult patients—an innovative design among patient guest houses throughout the country. PeaceHealth owns the Heartfelt House—an $8.4 million project funded through the generosity of more than 600 donors. Within the Heartfelt House, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington operates its fourth Ronald McDonald House for pediatric patients in Oregon. It is Oregon’s first Ronald McDonald House outside of Portland and Bend. “Ronald McDonald House Charities finished and furnished the parts of the Heartfelt House for kids and will invest half a million dollars every year in perpetuity,” said Jessica Jarratt Miller, chief executive officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon & SW Washington. “We’re thrilled to be opening another house to serve even more children and families in Oregon.” PeaceHealth contracts with Ronald McDonald House Charities to also oversee day-to-day operations of the adult wing. The Heartfelt House replaces the former Children’s Miracle Network/ Lions Patient Family Guest House on Patterson Street near Sacred Heart Medical Center’s University District campus in Eugene. PeaceHealth’s behavioral health program is working to convert that home into temporary housing. “We are very proud of our community,” said Dr. Douglas Leonard, a PeaceHealth neonatologist who serves on the Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation Board. “This guest house allows us to extend our community to folks who live in outlying cities. We get to welcome them into our lives and into our homes, if you will, and share the best parts of us so this can be their community too.” “The Heartfelt House is going to make life a bit easier for people who are going through a rough time. They don’t have to travel back and forth. They have a place to stay where they can get a good night’s rest. They can go back to the guest house and take a nap when things get overwhelming.” Heather Swesso