St. Luke’s builds overnight accommodations for cancer patients in Fruitland

Backed by $1 million in donations, St. Luke’s Health System will build a 5,235-square-foot respite house in Fruitland for cancer patients traveling from hundreds of miles away for radiation treatment.

The $1.6 million respite house will have four guest rooms with bathrooms for patients and families. The house also will have a living area, two kitchens, showers, laundry facility and storage.

Patients drive to the St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) in Fruitland from as far away as the Oregon cities of John Day, Pendleton, Grangeville and White Bird, often making the round-trip drive on the same day to save motel bills, said Dr. Sarah Bolender, MSTI Fruitland medical director.

“There is a lot of tired,” Bolender said.

The respite house will also have parking for five RVs, Bolender said.

Radiation treatments are given five days in a row for six, seven or eight weeks.

Bolender has lobbied for a respite house for six years.

“I actually begged St. Luke’s to do this,” Bolender said. “This is specifically for cancer patients. This will be right behind our clinic.”

Construction will start July 19 with an opening in spring 2019. St. Luke’s handles architecture and general contracting in-house.

The Surviving Hearts Cancer Support Group has raised more than $40,000 for the respite house with four annual tri-tip dinner auctions. Last year’s dinner raised $17,000 from $30 dinner tickets and auctions for three-day trips to Reno, the Pendleton Rodeo and the Seven Devils Lodge in Council, said Shellie Colbard, Surviving Hearts’ founder and president.

“It’s probably going to be the biggest thing to happen for cancer patients (in eastern Oregon and west central Idaho),” Colbard said. “We also help with gas cards. This last week we gave out $500 worth.”

Other large donors are the Laura Moor Cunningham Foundations, the Bunco Babes, and the Friends Always Club, Bolender said.

Room rates will likely be around $20 to $30 a night, St. Luke’s spokesman Daniel Mediate said.