Citizens Memorial breaks ground on lodging center

Last edited 5:53 p.m., Sept. 6, 2012

Citizens Memorial Healthcare yesterday broke ground on its Tremain Family Hospitality House, a facility that would house cancer patients and their families.

Bolivar-based CMH is serving as its own general contractor for the $550,000 project, with design work by HMN Architects Inc. The lodging center, which is designed to include six suites, a kitchen, a TV lounge, a hearth room, a dining room, laundry facilities, a resource library, a staff office and a tornado safe-room, is scheduled for completion in the spring, according to a news release. CMH Director of Marketing Tamera Heitz-Peek said this morning the 4,712-square-foot hospitality house will be built on an acre owned by CMH across from its Carrie J. Babb Cancer Center.

Jean Morrow, director of volunteers and special projects for CMH, said the facility would be similar to a Ronald McDonald House, which provides lodging for families of hospitalized children.

The hospitality house is being funded through donations and pledges, and nearly $400,000 has been raised to date, with a lead donation for an undisclosed amount from the Tremain Family Trust. The project was adopted by the CMH Auxiliary, which manages fundraisers and volunteers for the organization. Juanita Tremain is a current member of the CMH Auxiliary and trustee of the Tremain Family Trust, Morrow said.

CMH plans to charge for lodging based on patients' and families' ability to pay, she added.

"We had received several requests from family members of patients that were receiving cancer treatments that needed lodging," Morrow said.