Lookout Point Jackie Stark

lookout point JUST LIKE HOME

By Jackie Stark

The Beacon House was born, as most things are, out of necessity. And though its original location on Third Street in Marquette served the community well for nearly 18 years, when U.P. Health System-Marquette moved to its new location along the US-41 highway in Marquette, it felt like the right time to also move the Beacon House. Situated a stone’s throw from the new U.P. Health System-Marquette facility, the brand new Beacon House is as intentional a space as they come. “This is designed to be everything that we think anyone could possibly need,” said Mary Dowling, CEO of the Steve Mariucci Family Beacon House. “Just leave no stone unturned for loving and supporting and caring, and that’s what’s so magical. Guests will enter the building into a large reception area with huge, vaulted ceilings, plenty of natural light, and a desk manned by a volunteer ready to help them check in. Natural light is a theme throughout the building, with plenty of windows providing much needed warmth during what is likely to be a stressful time in the life of the facilities’ guests. Since the Beacon House’s inception, it has been a haven for those undergoing medical treatment and their families, providing more than 324,000 overnight stays, and saving families from across the Upper Peninsula more than $64 million in lodging and meals.

And all those stays provided plenty of insight into how to make the Beacon House better in every way – from accommodations to services.

With construction delayed –as most things were–by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dowling said the extra time was used to home in on the best possible design for the new facility.

“COVID put us all back–no one was giving money, people didn’t know if they were going to build anything,” Dowling said. “We poured through the plans and we said, ‘What else, what else, what else?’ We used every minute of COVID to improve it even more.”

The new space provides 22 guest rooms, including two extended-stay rooms, a space dedicated to

November 2021 Marquette Monthly 27

cancer patients undergoing treatment, a wig salon, multiple community spaces (including a game room for kids), a house kitchen and a commercial kitchen. Dowling said chefs had requested to donate their services at the former location, but she had to turn them down because then it did not have a commercial kitchen that met county health department codes. With the new space, that’s no longer an issue. “I’m getting certified so I can actually cook for our guest too, because that’s my love language,” Dowling said. “I can’t always fix their financial woes or things like that, but when they’re here, I’m gonna make ’em eat. I just love that part.” The house kitchen is also located directly next to the game room, so while parents are cooking a meal in the kitchen, they can still be near their kids—an improvement over the old space, where the playroom was located down the hall from the kitchen. “You can be here, preparing the meals, watching your kids and you’ve got the secure feeling that, ‘I can put my eyeballs on them right now,’ and they can just play happily because they know Mom is right there making them something to eat,” Dowling said. Included in the design are several communal areas for people to be together, and other quieter, more reflective areas, like the chapel, which will include 20-foot ceilings and a locally commissioned cross, which will be made from five different types of wood. A large porch on the main floor and deck on the second floor will also provide a space for guests to relax outdoors, taking in a beautiful view of the city “The best I could do for them at the old Beacon house was a bench between a dumpster and a gas station,” Dowling said. “This is what I wished I could have given them –a place to sit with a rocking chair, a place to look and think and be.” According to information provided by the Beacon House, most stays are cardiovascular-related, followed by Neuro/Brain/Spine conditions, orthopedics/surgery, and ICU or emergency situations.

Construction continues as project nears completion.

Also included in that list are stays in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the only facility of its kind in the entire Upper Peninsula. Which means any newborn born in the Upper Peninsula with serious medical problems will end up in Marquette. “That is one of the most important things in the world to me,” Dowling said, “is to keep babies and mothers together.” Another important mission of the Beacon House is acting as an information center for its guests, helping bridge the gap of communication between families and the medical staff caring for their loved ones. “We’re facilitators,” Dowling said. “The whole reason we’re here is to make sure everybody has everything they need … If there’s something that’s a barrier, like bad communication, then we’ll help fix that, to whatever level.” That goes for everyone on the staff at the Beacon House. “Our entire team is a support team, not matter what our job here is,” Dowling said. “I raise money and I run everything, but my No. 1 job is to be right down there as soon as somebody needs some help. And that’s what we do.” As Dowling walked through the building, still under construction at the time, pointing out the new features, and the things they improved upon with the new design, her excitement was contagious. Her passion for her work, and for the mission of the Beacon House, was abundantly clear as she discussed each detail of the new space. “The intention is so pure – there’s no hidden agendas here,” she said. “We’re just folks who, all of us, have personally experienced something where someone was very kind to us, and we want to pay that back. “And we also believe that our hospital is a pretty special place, and a lot of people in the U.P. need it. If we can break that barrier to getting there down, call us. We’re there.” A ribbon cutting ceremony for the new space is slated to take place on December 15, with the first guest of the Steve Mariucci Family Beacon House to walk through its doors just after Christmas. For more information on the Beacon House’s mission, or on how to donate, visit upbeaconhouse.org. About the author: Jackie Stark has lived in the UP since she was 11. An avid reader, she also loves gardening and has been talking about learning to play the guitar for 14 years.

MM