Helping Families During Trying Times
In 2021, Kathy’s House opened a new facility with the capacity to serve more guests and the intentional design to serve them better than ever.
The vision for the national model in hospital guest housing was the basis for the creation of our newly constructed, 38-room home, footsteps from Froedtert Hospital on the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center Campus.
As we continue to grow in our new facility, the data on this page is a testament to the impact we are having on families who need to travel to Milwaukee for medical treatment.
The Family Program for Patients & Caregivers
The Family Program for Patients and Caregivers ensures that every family facing a medical crisis, including those in financial hardship, can access needed healthcare and stay together during medical treatments.
The actual cost of a one-night stay at Kathy’s House is $90. We ask our guests to contribute a minimum of $50 per night toward the cost of their stays (and only $30 per night after 30 days). It is our goal, however, not to turn anyone away due to the inability to pay. Only through donations to our Family Program for Patients and Caregivers is this outcome possible as 75% of the families we serve cannot pay the actual cost of their stays. In fact, 10% of families cannot contribute anything toward the cost of their stays at Kathy’s House.
Our Impact in Real Time
This section is updated regularly and measures our impact in real time.
In Our Guests’ Words
Gerald & Kristi Evansen
“Apprehensive” is the word that Appleton’s Kristi Evansen used to describe her feelings about traveling to Milwaukee for medical care. “I was scared I’d have to stay at a hotel by myself. I’m not a city person,” she admitted during her stay. She left those fears behind when she arrived at Kathy’s House, where she stayed for six weeks during her husband Jerry’s bone marrow transplant. “There’s everything here that you could ever need here,” she said. It’s a place that’s affordable – and safe. And the fact that round the clock, people are here in case you need something….
Dawn Petrie
After six weeks of vertigo, dizziness, migraines, and vomiting following inner ear surgery, Dawn Petrie was convinced she was going to die. The Appleton resident called Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and described her symptoms, including loss of balance function, loss of weight and muscle, and loss of hearing. She was reassured to hear the nurse on the other end of the line say, “We’re not going to let you die. You just have to get down here.” With help from the nurse, Dawn arranged to stay at Kathy’s House, her friend Ted flying in from Arizona to be her caregiver….
Grace Michaud & David Hiltunen
Legacies and lemonade are unexpected and intertwined themes in a conversation with Grace Michaud and David Hiltunen. The Florence, Wis. couple lost their son in 2009, while staying at Ronald McDonald House in Milwaukee. “In our darkest hour, we made lemonade out of lemons,” they recall. The tragedy inspired them to found an organization to support other families going through medical crises. They didn’t expect to find themselves at another hospital guest house more than a decade later. But David’s diagnosis of multiple myeloma made it a necessity to travel for care. “What I think is good about Kathy’s House…
Key Stats
View Our Impact Reports
Click the title of each report to open an interactive flipbook-style document.
