Case for Support

Purpose | Community’s needs and opportunities

We’ve all heard of the wonderful Ronald McDonald Houses, Hope Lodges and other hospitality houses across the nation. We’ve all, sadly seemed to have known someone who needed to stay in one. We’ve all dreaded the thought of ever having to stay in one. However, we also know what amazing things they do every day for patients and families in need. Grand Forks has had a great history of providing world class care health care to Grand Forks and being a hub of healthcare to the surrounding rural region. However, currently health care patients and their families, who are already suffering through illness and hardships and must travel to fulfill their healthcare needs, do not have an affordable and/or need accommodating place to stay that is in close proximately to health care facilities in Grand Forks. Greater Grand Forks community members and families who have experienced the loss or illness of a loved one, have indicated a need for such a facility, as well as people in the medical community. A hospitality home in our community needs to be for all ages, all medical conditions, and for patients of all providers. Building a house for this purpose is not a new idea for our community, however we are committed to provide leadership and bring this very significant and important project to completion. We have been advised that by having the facility open to all ages it will fill a gap that has long been needed. Grand Forks currently does not have a children’s hospital and due to regional regulations, likely never will. Therefore, Grand Forks isn’t a proper fit for a Ronald McDonald House. The American Cancer Society has Hope Lodges, however Grand Forks doesn’t host one of these is because our Cancer Center’s patient volume would only meet this need and would not address the many other needs of this type of facility.

This project will become a home away from home available to all ages and illnesses, to be used by families in the Greater Grand Forks and surrounding areas while family members who must travel to fulfill their healthcare needs. A hospitality house provides individuals with a place to sleep, eat, keep their belongings, relax and find comfort while working hard to overcome illness.

Geographic Area Served: Greater Grand Forks | East Grand Forks, surrounding Red River Valley communities and beyond.

The Sunshine Hospitality Home Project being located in Grand Forks, ND will have a significant effect on the inherent value of the community. The project encompasses the planning, fundraising and building of a hospitality house in Grand Forks. It will strengthen the vitality of the Grand Forks Community and beyond, and make the place where individuals and families live and work even better. It will be a facility that transcends county and city lines and be a Red River Valley asset.

Hardship and circumstance certainly follow medical needs; however healing and care bring us all hope. It’s these factors that have us seek health care or receive it without notice at all and sometimes far from our homes and support systems.

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Population Served:

The Sunshine Hospitality Home will be a place for patients and their families, affected by critical illnesses, diseases, and injuries, who must travel to fulfill their healthcare needs. This home will serve any person (pending referral), be open to all ages, all medical situations, all health care providers, and will welcome families traveling to Grand Forks to fulfill their health care needs from Greater Grand Forks and surrounding region. The Sunshine Hospitality Home is envisioned to be able to host between 25-40 people at one time. The proposed facility will offer 8-14 guest rooms. The guest rooms will vary in size and amenities to cater to different sized families and their unique needs. This number was determined based on current needs and anticipated growth in the health care industry in the area. Stays can be as short as an afternoon or one night, as long as several months, depending on the family’s situation.

Clients Served: Ultimately, the Greater Grand Forks/East Grand Forks Community and Red River Valley communities within a 150 mile radius will be the largest beneficiaries of the Sunshine Hospitality Home. Reaching that North Dakota and Minnesota audience and gaining connectors to help be a part of the solution, will bring them to Grand Forks in the short term and hopefully keep them connected into the future. Our efforts to increase awareness about the community minded and community driven Sunshine Hospitality Home Project will benefit by connecting with communities throughout the Red River Valley. We believe that while the Sunshine Hospitality Home Project develops it will serve Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and the larger community by engaging in what we envision will be a shared goal. The home is proposed to be open in 2015-2016 or as soon as funds are raised; however we will gain donors, participants and volunteers throughout 2013 and beyond. Below are stories, of many, we have encountered along the way that really help to exemplify this need.

Examples:

The Andersons

Meet the Anderson’s, the family of Jim Anderson. Jim is a 31 year old husband and father from Roseau, MN who was in a head on collision and was airlifted to Grand Forks to receive intensive care. Sarah, Jim’s wife, upon receiving the news, immediately pulled the kids out of school, put them in the car and hit the road. They got to Grand Forks to later hear that Jim will be placed in ICU until further diagnosis and treatments can be made over the next few days. Sarah, currently unemployed, knows she can’t afford to eat out or get a hotel room. So after eating dinner from the hospital vending machine, knowing that sometimes hospitals will host families in empty patient rooms, she humbly asks a nurse if there is someplace they can stay. The nurse remorsefully tells her they are at capacity and that the best place to check is the waiting room. This is where they stayed for the next 3 nights.

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Baby Elsie & Family

Elsie was born six weeks early in Devil’s Lake, ND and immediately airlifted to Grand Forks and placed in the NICU unit of the nursery. The nurses needed to make sure Elsie was getting the proper nutrition to help her mature and develop properly, requiring Laura, her mother to be near her baby and provide breast milk every few hours. However, now reaching capacity the nurses inform Laura that she can no longer occupy her room they provided to her and her husband previously. Laura and her husband, Jon, decide that despite their biggest fear to leave their baby girl, they have no choice but to go to a hotel. This works for the first couple nights however, the doctor comes in on day four and informs the couple, that the earliest that Elsie will be able to go home is in six weeks, meaning Jon, her dad must go back to work in Devil’s Lake and Laura must stay with Elsie for six weeks. Now what, six weeks at an average hotel rate of around $90.00 per night, that racks up to almost $4,000 in hotel expenses, in addition to their extensive medical bills, not to mention the fact that Laura is not able to work, now eating out for every meal and required to drive across town each time she wants to see her new baby girl.

These clearly are not the best options for these families, but they have no choice…

Testimonials:

Cassie Gerhardt & Brad Parrish – Grand Forks, ND

Jack was just seven years old when he was sent by air ambulance to Mayo and diagnosed with leukemia. Cassie was then faced with a situation she wasn’t prepared for like so many other people. The social worker added her name to the Hospitality Home waiting list and after a couple of days she was able to move in for her six week stay. The house helped eased some stresses/concerns and allowed her to focus on Jack and his treatment. “I honestly don’t know what I would have done without the Ronald McDonald House”, commented Cassie.

Terry Paukert – Grand Forks, ND

Hope Lodge in Rochester, MN was Terry’s home for seven weeks when having surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. During that time different people stayed with him throughout his treatments which played a positive part of his recovery. “Since Grand Forks treats so many patients who need extended stays, I feel building a facility such as a Hope Lodge (hospitality home) would be very invaluable. With all the stresses and hardships that came with medical needs, having a comforting place to stay eased the burden for everyone involved. I strongly urge support for this project, which will make recovery more comforting and less stressful.”

Joanne Barstad – Grand Forks, ND

The Barstad’s have had several experiences at the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester due to both children having rare heart defects. Without a hospitality home we would have had to get a loan to help pay for accommodations and food which adds up after time. Many nights community groups provided meals, activities and gifts to the families. “The care and compassion from people that didn’t even know us was comforting. I thank God for homes like these and hope one day, all cities will have a hospitality home.”

JoLynn Dickson & Family – Gilby, ND

We’ve stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester because of affordability and location when tending to our daughter’s medical needs. “A unique part of our stay was that several other kids who were participating in the “pain clinic” also stayed there which helped with everyone’s overall experience. It provided us the opportunity to be around other families sharing a similar experience. A home such as this is a blessing for people who live at a distance from medical services.”

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Proposed work

The Sunshine Memorial Foundation has resolved to spearhead a fundraising campaign and implementation of the proposed Sunshine Home Project because a very need driven opportunity has been brought to our attention by the community. Sunshine Memorial Foundation’s goal is to plan, fundraise, and build a hospitality house on the north campus of Altru Health System, Grand Forks, ND. Sunshine Memorial Foundation would then like to donate the hospitality house back to the community as a gift to Altru Health System. Throughout this project, Sunshine Memorial Foundation is looking to: complete a capital fundraising campaign, complete the planning and building of the hospitality house, and setup an endowment fund for the continued support of the house’s day-to-day and ongoing operations.

Project Funding: Development Strategy Led by the Sunshine Memorial Foundation a multi-stage community fundraising initiative is envisioned. Regional participation toward a shared goal will strengthen the project and bring it to realization.

Sunshine Memorial Foundation’s entrepreneurial and architectural leadership understands challenges ahead and through our guiding mission, led by its Board of Directors and partnership with Altru Health System, we will be more than successful. Through this partnership a significant, developing business plan has further confirmed the identified need. Sunshine Memorial Foundation will provide the highest level of services to realize this dream and will take the “roll up our sleeves” approach to accomplishing our shared goals while working with Altru and the Greater Grand Forks Regional Community. Our staff is energetic, qualified, highly functioning and have strong commitment to the project realization.

Development Timeline:

2012-14 | Years of Beginning, Building Relationships & Advocacy

Project visioning and programming

Formed Altru Partnership and other community partnerships

Conduct User & Stakeholder Interviews

Develop basic needs assessment

Identify Home requirements methodology analysis

Began house design conceptualization and business plan

Developed strategy for fund development/fundraising campaigns

Selected a potential building site

Implementation of Strategic Fundraising Plan

Advocate/educate region about need and case statement

Form community partnerships

Develop CONNECT team model for regional communities

Land transfer process and financial commitments

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2014-2017 | Years of Growth & Realization

Continue forming community and critical partnerships

Community effort/events

Final implementation of Strategic Fundraising Plan

Construction to begin

Soft & Grand opening(s) of the Sunshine Hospitality Home

Project promotion: The vision of the Sunshine Memorial Foundation is to make this important project happen and soon. A hospitality home project has been discussed for 5-15 years within the community and the need is yesterday. Our fundraising strategy is to raise awareness by partnering with community members and organizations to disseminate information about the proposed Sunshine Hospitality Home project. Along the way and through those efforts our goal is to find individual connections that want to help make an impact financially with major and minor gifts.

Increasing regional awareness of the Hospitality Home and attracting donors from the entire area that will be served by the facility will make the difference. This is a facility that many may feel that they never need, but will be there for them when they do need it.

List of Envisioned Spaces

To attain more information on patient and family needs, Sunshine Memorial Foundation put together a list of spaces envisioned to be found in the Sunshine Hospitality Home and conducted interviews; with Altru’s former and current patients, families, doctors, nurses and department heads. These spaces may change due to constraints or requests related to fundraising and budgeting, donor requests, medical needs, and unforeseen circumstances, but with input from others a program for the home has taken shape.

Basic needs

Entering in through the patio or porch, families will have this space be able to relax, dine and visit while children can play outdoors. They will enter into a well-lit reception area which provides a warm and secure welcome for new families. It will include an area for new families to check in as well as a community information wall that will provide resources to assist families through their stay Communal, self-serve kitchens will be available so that families have the room to cook their meals together. This will provide them the luxury of a home cooked meal, within their dietary restrictions while providing them with some normality. A pantry space and fridge would also be available for each family to store their own personal food and a communal pantry and fridge would give families access to donated food. These spaces provide space for needed family time and an opportunity to save money by not dining out. Families would also have access to private family lounges where loved ones and perhaps extended family can gather together for support in a comfortable, home like atmosphere. Lastly, each family would also be provided a guest room to keep their personal belongs, seek privacy, and sleep. Rooms would be of varying sizes to cater for different sized families and different needs. We would also have guest suites and apartments to accommodate extended stay guests.

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We all take for granted the support we have and it’s the staff, volunteers and residents that make up for that at hospitality homes where they act as a “Home away from Home” and is convenient, comfortable and compassionate mechanisms for healing.

List of Potential Users

Sunshine Memorial Foundation has identified several different types of potential users and their needs related to the Sunshine Hospitality Home, based on various forms of research, including interviews. Users of the home will generally have one or more of the following traits/needs: from out of town, have an extended length of stay, cannot afford and/or find alternative lodging, need to stay within close proximity to treatment, have children to care for, need a place to gather with large families, need a place to shower, need a place to rest, need a place to keep their things, need a place for support/worship. Below are a few, of many, short descriptions of the different types of people that would be ideal users of the Sunshine Hospitality Home. Please note that although we have tried to be thorough in our examples, there are endless scenarios and potential types of patients and families that could utilize this home. In this list, we have simply tried to list the most common examples, however would never limit the list of potential users to just this list. ICU Patient’s Families The ICU treats patients with life-threatening injuries and illnesses that need critical care.

NICU Patient’s Families These patients need family, especially the new mother, nearby to provide breast milk and opportunity for bonding.

Cancer Patient Receiving Treatment and Their Families Cancer patients often need to remain close to a health system for monitoring and close access to medical treatment if necessary. Patients are also in great need of support from family and friends, and generally undergo the treatments with a “team” mentality, having a loved one near at all times.

Long Term Therapy Treatment Patients and Their Families Long-term therapy can range in duration from one week, to one month, to one year, to a lifetime, and can often require a coach or loved one nearby.

Inpatient Patient’s Families Inpatient patient family members need an affordable place to stay in, but prefer to be nearby in case they need to get to the health care facility on short notice.

Surgery Patients and Their Families Having a loved one who can provide care after the procedure, no eating 12 hours prior to surgery and arriving at 5:00 am are all perfect examples of basic needs.

Handicap Patients & Families Who Have a Difficult Time in Hotels Although hotels/motels/lodging today are required to fulfill American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, this doesn’t always mean it is easy for those with handicaps to easily stay in these facilities.

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Hospitality House Room Requirement Methodology

In an attempt to estimate the room demand for a hospitality house located in Grand Forks that would accommodate patients just of Altru Health System and/or their family members, inpatient volume and outpatient volume for select services were analyzed. Inpatient volume from counties located in our secondary and referral service areas were sorted by service line and the approximate distance the county is located away from Grand Forks. Counties located between 40 and 70 miles away were grouped together and counties that are more than 70 miles away were put into a second group. The outpatient services selected as likely users of the hospitality house were same day surgery, physical therapy, and chemotherapy. Same day surgery was selected because patients and/or family members are often required to arrive very early for surgery or get discharged in the evening and it would be beneficial for them to be near Altru instead of traveling a long distance right before or following surgery. Physical therapy and chemotherapy were selected because these services are often done in a series (e.g. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and it would be easier on the patient and/or family to stay in Grand Forks for the week versus riving back and forth to their home each day.

Since Altru is hiring more physicians (resulting in more patients) and there are additional patient populations that were not analyzed that would likely benefit from and utilize the hospitality house, an additional two rooms are being factored into the planning of this facility. Lastly, the Sunshine Memorial Foundation and Altru Health System Employees looked into a nearby hospitality home and interviewed them. Below is an additional room requirement analysis based on data found through research into the St. Cloud Gorecki House.

Additional Room Requirement Analysis

The Gorecki House is a hospitality house in St. Cloud, Minnesota; this house has been in operation for three years. Information obtained from this hospitality house shows they have a usage rate of 38 stays per 1,000 inpatient discharges and an average length of stay of three days. Given Altru’s large service area, a higher rate of 50 hospitality house stays per 1,000 inpatient discharges and an average length of stay of four days was used to estimate the room requirement for a hospitality house.

Based on the aforementioned assumptions, the total estimated room requirement of this facility is ten rooms. Of these ten rooms, eight will have something like two twin beds and two will be “apartment” style to accommodate longer guest stays at the home more comfortably.

After the interviews were completed, the data was analyzed, and other hospitality houses were consulted and researched, the Sunshine Memorial Foundation made a list of envisioned spaces.

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Average costs for a 3 night stay = $834

Without Home

Lodging $249

Food $552

Gas $33

Average costs for a 3 night stay = $273

With Home

Lodging $75

Food $165

Gas $33

Over $6 million could go back into these rural communities EVERY YEAR if the Sunshine Hospitality Home existed. % of 2011-12 Altru In & Out Patient Discharge Statistics by County $ Dollars that could go back to the regional community if the Sunshine Hospitality Home was built.

Costs of a 3 night stay in Grand Forks.

Total savings:

$561

Per family,

per visit

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Impact | Community benefit, expectations and long-term strategies

The Sunshine Memorial Foundation has formed a partnership with Altru Health System for the project to commit to supporting this project publicly and resourcefully. Altru Health System has also agreed in partnership to provide the Sunshine Memorial Foundation access to in-kind services to guide business planning for the project. Including medical, technical and system input, program and staffing input, and policy and procedure guidance.

Upon successful completion of planning, capital campaign, and endowment, the Altru board recognizes that the Sunshine Memorial Foundation will be making a request to accept the gift of the Sunshine Hospitality Home and take over day-to-day operations. Altru has committed the land which is now secured, to Sunshine Memorial Foundation for this project as this is the ideal location for the Sunshine Hospitality Home. Being community owned and driven, their long standing commitment to the greater regional community is the mindset and values needed to make such a house successful. It will be a place of care. It will be a place to rest and renew. It will be a place that says, “We care about the whole family and those in need”.

Evaluation and Measure…Effectiveness of activities

The indicator of the effectiveness of our activities will be community support and the outreach we establish. We envision the Sunshine Hospitality Home as a project identified by the community and supported by the community. Our strengths lie in our staff’s training and experience, coupled with the strong leadership of our board and engagement of our Task-Force. However, we will evaluate fundraising environment, including our capacity to compete with other non-profit charitable organizations in the community. We will perform donor research to the best of our ability and have strong donor procedures.

We have already and will continue to present a strong case statement and adapt as we are able with proper fundraising aids. Our ability to manage our donors properly, respectfully and promptly will ensure the integrity of the relationships we build. We feel we have already started to gain ground in community support and are able to measure the strength of our solution to the opportunity.

Criteria…Focus for a successful program and results

Our criteria for determining the success of the Sunshine Hospitality Home project will be the strength of collaborative planning resulting in a facility that is the proper size, cost and quality. Success will also be measured by planning for additional needs from other health care providers and planning for future growth. Our criteria for successful efforts will be the realization of volunteer involvement and a successful fundraising campaign and long-term sustainability.

Involvement and Evaluations…Key evaluators and ongoing use

Our outreach marketing efforts for the support of the Sunshine Hospitality Home is being evaluated by our Sunshine Task-Force, which is focused specifically on the goal of making the project come to realization. Evaluations will be used to confirm assumptions or adapt to new changing information.

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Organization History…Where we’ve been

The Sunshine Memorial Fund initiative was started in 2010 by Van and Dee Larson with the support of the Dakota Medical and Impact Foundations. The Larson’s established the fund in memory and in honor of their daughter, Shannon “Sunshine” Larson, who passed away in 2007, at the age of 31, from heat stroke while she was hiking in Arizona. The purpose of the foundation is to raise money for charitable programs and projects promoting Shannon’s attitude of helping others.

In 2012 the Sunshine Memorial Foundation was formed as a standalone non-profit organization. March through December 2012, the Foundation engaged two independent contractors to fulfill the necessary tasks of establishing the organization. The organization formed a board of directors, became a North Dakota non-profit corporation, and was granted 501(c)(3) nonprofit tax status by the IRS.

Organization Mission and Goals…Who we are

Mission: To support the development and implementation of programs and projects locally and throughout the

United States that focus on providing education and resources in areas of health, wellness, hydration, and hiker

awareness.

Guiding Principles:

Maintain and enhance community connection through projects, programs and activities

Build and continue to enhance strong, mutually beneficial relationships with the community, supporters, donors and partners

Work and communicate with other key stakeholder groups whose programs and/or actions impact communities

Focus on sound business practices, especially in developing projects and programs and their sustainability goals

Identify and address targeted strategic investments where the organizations time and resources should be directed in order to ensure success

Maximize and leverage the effective use of resources and technology

Emphasis on strategic planning and goal setting for measurable results

Current Projects and Programs … Where we’re going

Main Project: Sunshine Hospitality Home

While developing the vision of the foundation, the Larson’s shared their annual events in 2011 and 2012, with several partners. Through these shared partnerships in which we ‘shared in the work and shared in the proceeds’, a major fill-the-gap project need was identified, a Hospitality Home. Through discussions starting in February of 2011, the Larson’s decided to focus their future efforts. They would develop the vision of the opportunity to help, bring awareness to the need, and try to make a large impact in Shannon’s honor and memory. So, as a result, in 2012 the Sunshine Memorial Foundation board voted in favor of sponsoring the foundation's first main project, the Sunshine Hospitality Home Project.

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Organization… Organization board members, staff, and volunteers The Sunshine Memorial Foundation has 7 Board Members, 2 staff members and a network of 20-plus ongoing ‘Task Force’ volunteers and 125-plus event oriented volunteers. Guided by the Sunshine Memorial Foundation Board of Directors, the foundation’s CEO Donovan Larson and staff operates the Sunshine Memorial Foundation and lead the Sunshine Hospitality Home Project. They are responsible for the fundraising, planning and construction of the Sunshine Hospitality Home. The staff works closely with Altru employees to carry out the necessary planning tasks to complete the project.

Member of the Healthcare Hospitality Network (HHN) Sunshine Memorial Foundation is a member of the Healthcare Hospitality Network (HHN). Established in 1986, the Healthcare Hospitality Network is a caring association of more than 200 nonprofit hospitality home organizations located throughout the U.S. that provide family-centered lodging and support services to families and their loved ones who are receiving medical treatment far from their home communities. To encourage the development and growth of these homes, the HHN offers its members educational opportunities, serves as a network for information exchange and provides basic assistance to groups interested in creating similar programs. The Healthcare Hospitality Network promotes and assists not-for-profit programs that provide lodging and supportive services in a caring environment for families receiving medical care away from home.

Partners and networks Organizational Relationships… Organization relationships, similar services and agencies The Sunshine Memorial Foundation’s first main project has no true precedent within the Greater Grand Forks Community. However, in developing a partnership with Altru Health System to promote and support this project we have further learned the real need for Sunshine Hospitality Home, a hospitality house that would provide individuals and families with a place to sleep, eat, keep their belongings, relax and find comfort while seeking medical care. We have already started to gain ground in community support and are able to measure the strength of our solution to the opportunity. For instance, in April 2013 and 2014, the Red River Valley Motorcyclists Organization committed their Annual Motorcycle Show proceeds to go to the Sunshine Hospitality Home. The Altru Alliance (Gift Shop)became our first lead-donor and has committed $75,000 to the project. This summer the Sertoma Club of Greater Grand Forks donated the proceeds from their 4th of July events to the Sunshine Hospitality Home. This fall the North Star Quilters Guild donated the proceeds from their annual raffle quilt to the Sunshine Hospitality Home. Sunshine Hospitality Home | Current Major Partners: Altru Health System & Foundation, UND Center for Innovation, Red River Valley Motorcyclists, UPS, Altru Alliance, Ecolab, Surefoot, ICON Architec, City of Grand Forks, Cavalier Ride-In, Minto Chili Feed, and the United Way have all committed resources to the start-up foundation & project.

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Partnership Strengths, Accomplishments, Contributions, Statistics and ‘Reach’ of the Sunshine Memorial Foundation:

We are so grateful to the many supporting partners who have and continue to champion our project. Here is an abbreviated list of these wonderful activities and groups! 40 plus Grand Forks United Parcel Service (UPS) employees donated through payroll deduction.

Altru Alliance

UND Nonprofit Leadership group ‘’Spring Formal” show

Life Care Medical Center & Altru Clinic, both of Roseau, MN host a satellite “More Sunshine Fun Run & Walk”

E. Allen Johnson bequests that memorials at his funeral go toward the Sunshine Hospitality Home Project. Memorial requests continue to come in for so many beloved individuals.

“Put Minto on the Map” Chili feed event “Cavalier Ride-In” Pre-Sturgis motorcycle event.

Southgate Bar & Grill annual motorcycle ‘Pre-Sturgis’ party and motorcycle benefit ride Rydell Chevrolet of Grand Forks annual car show

The Red River Valley Motorcyclists Organization The Sertoma Club of Greater Grand Forks The North Star Quilters Guild The Stadstad Hockey Game (between GFC and RR)

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