PROVO -- Each year, between 130 and 200 critically ill babies are admitted to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.
Some are so tiny they fit in the palm of a doctor's hand, like Elisabeth, a tiny twin who survived only 45 days. Others, like Madison and Rachel, put up a valiant fight that lasts for months.Half of those babies come from far outside the central valley area -- from Vernal, Kamas, even as far as Cedar City, uprooting their families and often requiring them to travel long distances with no affordable place to stay.
That's now changed.
With the opening of the new $1.3 million Family Guest House just west of the medical center, up to 18 families can be housed near the hospital for minimal cost.
If an emergency arises, they're just minutes away.
"I don't know why it is, but all the trouble seems to strike in the middle of the night," said Kalleen Lund. The Lunds'son was diagnosed with a type of leukemia four years ago, an illness that required their family to stay at various area hospitals for weeks at a time while he underwent bone marrow transplants, surgeries and dialysis treatments.
"I think this is the most wonderful place on earth," Lund said Thursday at a media preview event for the guest house. "The location is absolutely perfect. If something happens, and it always does, you can be right there."
The 12-room, 10,000-square-foot guest house is di- rectly across the street from the medical center at 1043 N. 500 W. and has six recreational vehicle hookups behind it.
Guests in the home will pay $10 a night to stay inside the house or $5 to hook up an RV unit.
Each room is spacious, private, airy and designed for wheelchair access with large bathrooms and low counters.
Wide hallways furnished with comfortable couches and chairs invite sitting and visiting if families feel like sharing their situations.
Laundry facilities are available, as is a kitchenette. A courtyard off to the south offers a chance to sit outside in fresh air and sunshine.
There are bookcases filled with paperbacks and novels, a gas fireplace, artwork on the walls and homey furnishings. The guest house also features a security system and a housekeeping staff.
"This will be the calm during the storm," Lund said. "I applaud our community for this."
Community donations and fund-raising efforts have provided $1,286,085 for the guest house construction. Another $63,915 is needed.
Plus, in another two years, Peter Giusti, executive director for the Celebration of Health Foundation, which oversaw the fund-raising for the house, anticipates an addition will need to be made.
"We're already booked. We have a waiting list," said Giusti.
"This is an important step, an important day," said Dr. Ron Stoddard, a neonatal and perinatal specialist who described Elisabeth's, Madison's, and Rachel's experiences.
"A house like this would've benefited these families greatly. What a great service this would've been for them."
Oncologist Bob Elton said patients who are undergoing chemotherapy will also benefit from having a home away from home close to treatment. Utah Valley Regional Medical Center is the only radiation oncology treatment center between St. George and Salt Lake City, treating an average of 55-75 patients per day for five- to six-week periods.
The former Oncology House that offered a place for cancer patients to stay was recently torn down after 14 years of service, said Anton Garrity, public relations spokesman for the hospital.
The Guest House replaces the Oncology House and will be available to any long-term patient families who need it.
"We know this is going to be 95 percent occupied from the first day, which is Monday," Giusti said.
No direct reservations for staying in the guest house will be taken. All guests will need to be referred by the Radiation Oncology department, a social worker or nursing supervisor.