PROJECT HIGHLIGHT: Kathy’s House
KATHY’S HOUSE
After years of planning, campaigning and fundraising, the new Kathy’s House welcomed guests to their New Home for Healing on June 7, 2021.
A New Home for Healing
Patients and families who seek to stay at Kathy’s House are facing one of the most stressful times in their lives – a medical crisis. As a non-profit Hospital Guest House, Kathy’s House provides lodging and a supportive environment to families who are experiencing personal illness or the serious illness of a loved one. It is a caring place where guests can eat, sleep and be with others when they want, or be alone when they need time, introspection and quiet healing.
For the past several years, Kathy’s House was operating at full capacity and was unable to provide medical care and lodging services to incoming patients and their families. To meet the growing demand for the services provided and continue to make a difference in the lives of patients and families facing cancer and other major medical issues, Kathy’s House launched a $12 million New Home for Healing fundraising campaign to fund the construction of a new Guest House.
Kathy’s House partnered with CG Schmidt to build their new Guest House and make their vision a reality. After years of planning, campaigning and fundraising, the new Kathy’s House welcomed guests to their New Home for Healing on June 7, 2021.
Located on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center campus, footsteps from Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center, the new facility features 36 guest rooms, double the capacity of their first home. “The need to expand was so great, and the new house doubles our capacity from 18 rooms to 36 rooms,” said Patty Metropulos, Kathy’s House President and CEO.
The new Kathy’s House is ADA-compliant, improving health equity in our region for those seeking access to life-saving care, regardless of geography, income or resources. Kathy’s House is designed to serve as the national model of care in hospital guest lodging to support patients and their families—right here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The new, larger Kathy’s House addressed the frequency of turning away guests because of capacity constraints. In addition to doubling the guest room capacity from 18 rooms to 36 rooms, the new Kathy’s House includes a separate wing for patients with compromised immune systems and a patient-services room for blood draws and private consultations. The facility also includes a kitchen, dining area, library, family room, fitness room, laundry facilities, courtyard, patio, walking trail and parking
“In addition to serving guests’ medical needs, the Kathy’s House project team also wanted to design and build a facility that was peaceful and comfortable,” said Metropulos. “Many guests come from rural areas and smaller cities and are facing the uncertainties of being in a big city on top of their health challenges.”
- Patty Metropulos, President & CEO, Kathy’s House
Environmental considerations such as solar panels were installed – the first solar panel installation at the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center. Sustainability features also include guest room key cards utilized to automatically control both the HVAC and lighting in the guest rooms, wood finishes from the trees that were cut down during the construction process, a series of wildlife photos donated by a doctor who doubles as a nature photographer, and the addition of a courtyard area that offers a patch of green space for guests to relax.
CG Schmidt’s mission is to create exceptional facilities that improve the lives of others. We care about the facilities we build, but more importantly, we care about who will utilize those facilities. “I’m honored to be part of a project that is so aligned with CG Schmidt’s mission,” said Cody Scherr, Senior Project Manager. “Kathy’s House truly benefits the community, and especially makes a difference to the patients and families who stay there.” As a firm, CG Schmidt works diligently to stay true to our values of integrity, excellence and our core value of caring. We’re very fortunate to have been a part of the Kathy’s House project and to have had the opportunity to make a difference in the lives and communities in which we serve.
