By Kaitlyn Aiello, High Point University Intern
Kathy DeClue was battling leukemia when her brother donated stem cells to save her life. She found a home away from home at SECU House where she stayed during her 100-day, post-transplant recovery time.
The State Employees Credit Union’s Family House in Winston-Salem and Chapel Hill, not unlike the Ronald McDonald House in Durham, provides an affordable, safe, nurturing environment for seriously ill patients, like Kathy DeClue and their families.
Patients from the oncology, burn, eating disorders, trauma, and transplants units, experience the comforts of home while receiving extensive medical care. In a two-story, 40-bedroom facility, SECU Family House provides two gathering rooms, a hearth room and parlor with a fireplace, comfortable sofas and a large screen TV, as well as a solarium, all for the minimal price of 35 dollars per day.
Since its opening in 2008, the Family House has served over 8,000 patients and have provided over 114,000 room nights to patients and families from all of North Carolina’s 100 counties as well as 35 states and seven foreign countries.
“We’ve made lifelong friends at Family House and at UNC Health Care,” Kathy said. “I had received treatment at other hospitals after I was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 but I felt like other doctors had given up on me until I came to UNC.”
Today, Kathy is spending time with her family, who supported her throughout her ordeal, and is hoping to return to work.
“Family House is the true meaning of this place,” says Sherman Riggsbee, resident manager. “You might come here as an individual, but when you leave you are forever a part of this family.”
For more information, visit the SECU Family House website at secufamilyhouse.org.