MILWAUKEE — Bill Harvey is a guest at Kathy’s House. He came from Denver, Colorado, for his 23-year-old daughter’s medical procedure.

What You Need To Know

  • Kathy’s House is located on the campus of the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center

  • It’s a nonprofit hospital guest house that provides a place for families to stay 

  • It relies solely on donations and volunteers to keep the doors open

  • The house is named after Kathy Vogel Kuettner. She died in 2000 after a year-long cancer battle. Her family started the facility to honor Kathy’s memory by helping others

“Kathy’s House is a place to provide her with comfort and have a nice relaxing place where we could also get work done at the same time,” said Harvey.

Harvey’s daughter recently underwent surgery due to a congenital condition called Chiari malformation.

“There’s just a world-class neurosurgeon at the hospital here, and there’s about a three-week recovery where my daughter has to be lying flat for those three weeks,” said Harvey.

Kathy’s House is located on the campus of the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center. It’s a nonprofit hospital guest house that provides a place for families who are receiving care at Milwaukee area hospitals to stay.

Kim Lamansky, CEO and president of Kathy’s House, said she understands the need for such housing after her mother’s cancer battle when she was a child.

“I ended up having to spend the summer in a camper with her and had to go in and out of Mayo Clinic,” said Lamansky. “We stayed in a camper, and it was horrible. So having a place like this really would have probably increased her mentality and her hope to have someone beside her.”

Kathy’s House offers support to patients and caregivers. It relies solely on donations and volunteers to keep the doors open. Lamansky said no one is turned away.

“Working here is able to fill your soul in ways that normally nonprofits can’t do,” said Lamansky. “One of the great things is being able to talk to the guests and learn their story. Sometimes it’s to help them make a bed. Sometimes it’s to have meals with them.”

The house is named after Kathy Vogel Kuettner. She died in 2000 after a year-long cancer battle. Her family started the facility to honor Kathy’s memory by helping others.

“Anyone who walks into the building, you feel it,” said Lamansky. “You definitely feel what Kathy’s House is about. I wish I had known her. Her legacy is something that we all strive to do the best and give the most honor to.”

Harvey said Kathy’s House gives them the breathing room and care they need during a tough time. He also said it offers a sense of community.

“It has blown away my expectations of it,” said Harvey. “The thing I wasn’t expecting was building relationships with other folks going through similar things, so that supportive community within Kathy’s place that sees each other on a regular basis.”

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