Nothing is more stressful for a parent and family than having a hospitalized child. The feeling of helplessness is overwhelming, especially when you live far from the hospital. Studies have long shown that parent presence at the bedside of a sick child is critical to bonding and long-term recovery. For low-income families that don’t live near the hospital, staying in the area can be a significant hardship.

Since 2000 the World Croquet Championship Charitable Foundation, a philanthropic organization headquartered in Sebastopol, has supported families of babies in the NICU at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital by providing hotel vouchers. Now the foundation supports the Bill and Elizabeth Shea House, a four-bedroom home on hospital grounds that provides a safe place of respite for out-of-town families to be close to their hospitalized children. The house is named in gratitude for the major benefactors of the project, Bill and Elizabeth Shea.

Since its opening, more than 270 families have benefited from the comfort of a home-like environment across the street from the hospital. Families have stayed anywhere from one to 60 days, with an average stay of nearly eight days. Considering the average cost of a nearby hotel room with kitchen facilities is about $125 per night, it’s easy to see how a lengthy hospital stay could be a hardship on any family, let alone one with limited financial resources.

This lodging was designed to serve any family of a hospitalized child in Santa Rosa. It burned to the ground in October 2017 in the Tubbs Fire, but has been restored to its former glory thanks to community gifts.

If you are interested in donating to this community resource, give now online.