GREEN BAY (NBC26) — The Altrusa House has assisted families from around the world by offering free stays while their loved ones receive medical treatment in Green Bay. Staff say the newly renovated offices will support their mission.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
One Green Bay house isn't like many others. It serves as a safe haven for families seeking medical care in Green Bay. I'm your Green Bay neighborhood reporter, Pari Apostolakos, and the folks who run Altrusa Hospitality House tell me a recent renovation will help them care for people from all over the world right here on Mason Street.
Get an inside look at the Altrusa House's new offices in the video below:
I first took you inside the Altrusa Hospitality house in November, when they were seeking donations to help the families who stay here while their loved ones get medical care in the Green Bay area, with newly renovated office spaces funded by community donations. Altrusa staff now have a space to organize donations of food and other supplies and to greet families who call this place home in between hospital visits.
"We have anywhere from 20 to 25 people on a waiting list every single night and so in order to grow, we need to be able to focus, work and hire some staff to work in the background and make that happen," Executive Director Annie Bongiorno said. She told me people from eight different countries and almost every state have stayed in one of the twelve bedrooms at Altrusa House free of charge, with snacks, meals, and laundry supplies provided, lifting some of the financial burden of medical care.
"There are so many of these houses, hundreds of them across the nation, and they are an integral part of healthcare, and so we need houses like this place to help people heal, to stay near their family, and just to have that close comfort," Mission Advancement Manager Kristine Blum said.
Bongiorno tells me Altrusa House could potentially move from this spot, where they pay Bellin Hospital just a dollar a year in rent, in order to find more space for their guests down the line.
