The Evelyn D. Reinhart Guest House of Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital
In 1824, the nuns of Bon Secours began their ministry in Paris by going to the homes of those who were sick and dying and in need of comfort.
In June 2014, 190 years later, Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital opened the Evelyn D. Reinhart Guest House on Libbie Avenue to provide comfort and a home-like environment for families who have nowhere else to stay while their loved ones are hospitalized. The home is open to guests who live at least 30 miles away. Guests are referred by Bon Secours health care personnel or their affiliates.
“Imagine traveling to an unfamiliar city because of a medical crisis,” says Lisa Patten, executive director of the guest house. “It is scary and emotionally overwhelming. [People wonder,] ‘Who do I lean on? Where do I sleep? How do I eat? Where do I park? How can I afford multiple days in a hotel? I don’t know anyone!’ All of these questions and concerns are addressed by the Reinhart Guest House mission. We become their home away from home and their new family.”
Patten notes that St. Mary’s had for years housed some relatives of patients in homes on Maple Avenue, through the hospital’s volunteer auxiliary. “Demand outgrew the space,” she says.
The Reinhart Guest House was built to meet the need. The 14,000-square-foot structure has 16 guest rooms (each with private, ADA-accessible bathrooms), a full kitchen and a stocked pantry, a spacious dining area, a living room with a working fireplace, and children’s play and TV areas. The back doors lead to a landscaped garden with a grill, seating and a soothing water feature. Pre-COVID-19, it was typical for community volunteers to prepare home-cooked meals in the house’s kitchen. Now, volunteer teams are delivering meals purchased from local restaurants. “That pivot speaks volumes about the love of our volunteers,” Patten says. “That benefits local restaurants and our families.”
(From left) Lisa Patten, executive director of the guest house, and Scott Chasteen, house manager
“We can’t relieve all stress, but we try to relieve as much as possible.” —Scott Chasteen, house manager
The goal is to help people through a difficult time, Patten says. “We provide supportive and comfortable accommodations to our families to effectively promote health and wholeness in an environment that feels like home,” she says. “That sense of wholeness directly impacts the patient. Keeping families close is essential to healing.”
House Manager Scott Chasteen knows firsthand how important that service is. When he and his wife welcomed their son in another state, his wife was able to stay in the hospital with the baby, but he paid for an Airbnb to remain close.
“When I heard about this place [and the job opening], I thought this was meant to be,” he says. “We can’t relieve all stress, but we try to relieve as much as possible.”
Patten and Chasteen each have prior experience in the hospitality industry, so they know the importance of details. They strive to make sure all furniture is comfortable (especially the beds); the kitchen is stocked with simple grab-and-go items; washers and dryers are available (free of charge); and essentials such as Wi-Fi, linens and toiletries are provided. Handwritten welcome notes wait for new occupants on their pillows. The house is also following all required COVID-19 protocols. “We like to say that our masks don’t hide our compassion or our smiles,” Patten says.
While the guest house in some ways functions like a hotel — with procedures for checking in and checking out, and a room rate of $45, waived in cases of need — it is strikingly different in others. “We cross over the structure line in offering compassion and unconditional love without judgment,” Patten says.
“A lot of people are so thankful, we have to pull [constructive criticism] out of them,” Chasteen says, noting that if something in the house isn’t working properly, he needs to know, so it can be fixed.
And then there’s the food.
1 of 3
Reinhart Guest House provides a warm, comforting environment to its patrons.
2 of 3
3 of 3
Filling Stomachs and Hearts
Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked cookies. Well, almost nothing.
Before the pandemic upended established routines, Wanda Harris, telecommunications manager at St. Mary’s, led a volunteer team of workers who cooked a meal that often featured homemade fried chicken and brownies from scratch.
“It means everything for people to walk into a kitchen and have it smell like home,” she says, noting that volunteers would often stay for dinner with the night’s guests. “We see people who are in need of that little bit of home. You sit there, and people tell you their stories.”
Harris, who has been with Bon Secours for 17 years, says she and her co-workers were intrigued about the house from the beginning. “We were very curious about this big, beautiful house being built on Libbie Avenue; we didn’t really know what a guest house was,” she says. “We were overwhelmed once we understood what the house was for and what they would be providing for these families. We absolutely had to be a part of it.”
The same sentiment motivated officials at Chesapeake Bank five years ago, when the Kilmarnock-based financial services institution opened its first Richmond location on Patterson Avenue. Frank Bell, senior vice president and Richmond region executive, says the bank is committed to being involved in every community where it has a branch. When he and other team members met with Patten, it was an easy decision.
“We thought, ‘This is really cool; what a neat mission,’ ” he says. “It was something we definitely wanted to get involved with.”
The bank made a donation to name one of the guest rooms and signed up to provide volunteers to cook dinner every other month. During the pandemic, the bank is purchasing and delivering meals on its regular schedule. Bell says one of the bank’s current team members is especially motivated to help, as he had to rent a house when his child was hospitalized after birth at St. Mary’s, before the Reinhart Guest House had opened.
“You hear incredible stories, both how blessed and how challenged people are; it puts your life in perspective,” Bell says. “We saw something unique [in our neighborhood] that our employees could get their hands on and not just [write] a check.
“We see the good they are doing.”
Building Connections
Patten notes that the partnership with Chesapeake Bank is especially appropriate: Bon Secours purchased Rappahannock General Hospital in late 2014, and many patients from that region who need specialized or long-term treatment are often transferred to St. Mary’s. Families follow and later tell others about the guest house.
“Advocacy like that is priceless to us,” Patten says. “They had a good experience at the hospital, they had a good experience with us. It’s so organic.”
Patten and Chasteen agree that in order to fulfill the house’s mission, they must build relationships with the community. The house’s annual signature event, Rockin’ on the Avenue, typically happens in June and includes auctions, vendors and live music. With the event canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, Patten says she is thankful for the sponsors who honored their pledged donations, which usually offset the party’s expenses.
“Yes, we’re part of a massive health system, but my job is to fundraise as much as possible so this house isn’t a burden on the system,” Patten says. “We want to form lasting and long partnerships with people in the community, who then talk about what we do.”
Volunteer Susanne Mitten
“Sometimes, there’s nothing more we can do for them except listen to them tell us about their loved one.” —Susanne Mitten, volunteer
While cash gifts are always appreciated, Patten says, the house also welcomes donations of goods and services. She estimates the house saves nearly $35,000 annually in operational expenses thanks to in-kind donations from linen, maintenance and other local organizations. Casteen notes that one guest got his company to restripe the parking lot for free. Anyone can make purchases via the Reinhart Guest House Amazon wish list or funnel funds through Kroger’s Community Rewards program. This year in particular, she says, donations of small merchant gifts cards or even underwriting the cost of a typical three-night stay make a difference.
“There are ways to help without being in the house, and every little bit helps us,” Patten says.
But being in the house can be life-changing, says volunteer Susanne Mitten, who plans to return to her slot on Mondays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for whatever tasks need doing. Pre-COVID-19, she answered the phones or hung newly donated artwork on the walls. At times, she would clean the refrigerator and strip beds, or she might simply sit with a guest.
“It’s a humbling thing,” Mitten says of those conversations. “Sometimes, there’s nothing more we can do for them except listen to them tell us about their loved one.”
House Manager Chasteen says that’s the point.
“The vibe is to be like family” to whoever is at the house, he says.
Rhonda Bouldin Gaines, who stayed at the guest house for six weeks as her 93-year-old mother was being cared for at St. Mary’s, says she felt that family spirit the minute she walked in the door. “When I walked in to register, I broke down crying,” she says. “They said, ‘Let’s get you in a room, and we’ll finish this later.’
“They took away the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness,” she says. “They listen to you, and not once do they judge you.”
Gaines appreciated the readily available meals — “They made me want to sit down [to eat]” — as well as the conversations with other guests, people she likely would never have known. “Grief will connect you like nothing else; we all supported each other,” she says. “That place is filled with the spirit of love, respect and empathy.
“If [someone] ever wanted an opportunity to support a cause, this is an excellent, worthy cause,” she adds. “You’re impacting families, not just one person, so they can stay together, eat together, cry together.”
