Imagine that phone call out of the blue. A loved one has been hurt in a car crash, a loved one has taken a bad fall, or a loved one has suffered a massive heart attack and is now on life support.
That kind of call is nightmare enough, but for those who live a long distance from a hospital there could also be the unexpected worry of where to stay while visiting the patient.
“Some people in the past (with a loved one who was a patient in Kalamazoo) even had to sleep in their cars or hospital hallways,” says Jim Paparella. “No more.”
Paparella is the executive director of Hospital Hospitality House (HHH) of Southwest Michigan, which has two facilities in Kalamazoo to serve patients and their families while they require the medical services of Bronson Methodist Hospital, Ascension Borgess Hospital, the West Michigan Cancer Center or other health care facilities in the area.
Hospital Hospitality House was created in 1985, and its original facility was a Victorian-style historic home at 527 W. South St. Now, nearly 40 years later, the organization has two locations: 1800 Henson Ave., just east of Borgess Ascension Hospital, and 828 S. Burdick St., near Bronson Methodist Hospital. The two houses, built by the Home Builders Association of Kalamazoo and designed by the architectural firm Eckert Wordell, replaced the original hospitality house, which was sold by HHH. A $4.8 million capital campaign funded the two new houses, which opened to the public in 2018 and 2019.
Each house has seven guest rooms, each with a private bath. Both locations also offer community kitchens, children’s playrooms, laundry facilities, family gathering spaces, conference rooms, patio and outdoor garden spaces, and easy parking nearby.
“The hospitality houses are one of Kalamazoo’s best kept secrets,” Paparella says. “but that’s mostly because most of the people we serve — about 70% — live outside of Kalamazoo.”
Guests from all over
Paparella points to a map of the United States crowded with colorful pins that mark the residence of a Hospital Hospitality House guest. While most of the pins are in Michigan, many are spread across the entire country.
“Hospital Hospitality House has served people in all 50 states and even from countries overseas,” he says. “In fact, right now we have a guest staying here from Madagascar.”
Other guests may have no home. One such example, Paparella says, was a homeless person from Kalamazoo who had checked into a local hospital for a medical procedure but had nowhere to stay and recover. He was provided with a room and transportation to and from the hospital free of charge.
“No one pays for anything here,” Paparella says. “The houses are completely funded by donations and through our fundraising efforts or capital campaign.”
Rooms are provided based on need. Recommendations mostly come from hospital staff or social workers. The houses are ADA-compliant, with barrier-free access, and guests are provided with food, clothing and incidentals.
Satisfied with their stays
Recent surveys rate guest satisfaction at 95.4% for comfort, 98.7% for cleanliness, 97.3% for hospitality, and 97.3% overall.
Paparella is proud of those numbers. He took his position as executive director of HHH in 2022, bringing with him 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership. He formerly worked as executive director of Child and Family Services in Lansing; as president and CEO of D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s Home, a children’s home in Grand Rapids; and as a nonprofit consultant. He has also managed a shelter for runaway and homeless youth in mid-Michigan.
“When I came to this position, I thought about a favorite saying by Steve Farber, a leadership coach: ‘Do what you love in the service of people who love what you do.’ That’s how I feel about my work here,” he says.
Jessica Blanchard, guest services coord-inator at the HHH location on Henson Avenue, echoes that sentiment. A longtime volunteer, she now lives permanently at the house, in an apartment at the end of a hallway.
“That way I can be on call for guests 24 hours a day,” she says. During most daytime hours, she is seated at the front desk, ready with a warm smile to greet anyone coming through the door.
But during early morning and evening hours, the house buzzes with activity.
“Guests usually have breakfast here or we give them boxed meals to take along, and then they head to the hospital to be with their loved one or to get treatment,” Paparella says. “Then they return in the evening. They can prepare their own meals here or grab something from the community fridge.”
The large, bright kitchen has two refrig-erators. One is considered a community refrigerator with food items for the taking. The other holds items guests have purchased on their own.
“We also have volunteers to whom we give Aldi cards so that they can go shopping for the guests,” Paparella says. A food pantry covers basic food needs such as coffee, peanut butter, bread, snacks and more.
A sponsor for each room
Paparella walks the pastel-colored hallways of the house, where each door has a plaque with a name on it.
“Each room here is sponsored by someone different,” he says. “Each room has its own color theme, its own style. Some have twin beds. Others have queens or pull-out sofas. We can also bring in air mattresses if needed. But all rooms have private bathrooms, and that’s a change from the original house that our guests really appreciate.”
The average stay for guests is more than seven days, and in 2023 HHH served 943 guests, providing stays totaling nearly 7,000 nights. Guests can stay for as long as needed, whether it be for a night or a few days or even months.
“My favorite moments are when guests come back later to thank us,” Paparella says. “People staying here are not just family members of patients — many times these are cancer patients staying close to the hospital for their treatments. We see them when they are feeling their worst. Then they come back later, healthy again, to say thank you, and you almost can’t recognize them. That’s the best.”
