Auxiliary gives $100,000 for home away from home

An effort to create a home away from home for families of Carson-Tahoe Hospital patients got a $100,000 boost Tuesday.

The Carson-Tahoe Hospital Auxiliary voted to give the hospital $100,000 to purchase a home near the hospital at 3 Lane Circle. The hospital will give the auxiliary a house at 700 Fleischmann Way to use for the hospitality house.

The Fleischmann Way house is a four-bedroom home used by the hospital as a temporary residence for doctors moving into the community. The house at 3 Lane Circle will be remodeled for the same use.

Hospitality houses are usually near hospitals and are used to house families or patients who need to be near a hospital. More than one family can stay there at a time. Stays at a hospitality house are usually short. Washoe Medical Center has a Ronald McDonald House for use by families.

Auxiliary member Delyse Mills said it takes the hospital's fund-raising arm about three years to earn $100,000.

The house will allow families to be close their loved ones during a hospital stay.

Mills said her ultimate dream for the hospitality house is that it would be so well used, the auxiliary would outgrow it and build a larger home with bedrooms and apartments in it. For now, the smaller home will do, though.

"I'm just so happy the auxiliary decided to do this," Mills said. "We worked so hard to earn this money. It's such a good community and customer service concept that will help a patient's family or the patient themselves. That's what we want to be known for, doing things to benefit the community."

Mills said the auxiliary would have to get a special use permit from the city before it can be used as a temporary home.