Newly opened guest house a respite in the cancer battle

FRUITLAND – Cancer treatment is a traumatic experience under the best circumstances – add in a long commute, and it can become overwhelming.

In September, St. Luke’s opened the Fruitland Respite House to help ease this burden. The facility lodges patients from eastern Idaho and western Idaho who often are traveling long distances for cancer treatments.

According to a news release, cost of the new facility, which even has RV parking nearby, is $1.6 million. It will be used by patients of the St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute-Fruitland. The institute’s medical team handles 10,000 annual appointments. Many of the patients reside outside the area, traveling from as far away as Burns, Oregon, and Richland, Washington.

Community members and organizations, such as Surviving Hearts, worked for more than six years to raise roughly $1 million to get the project rolling, according to the release. Fundraising efforts ranged from bowling to bunco to barbecues.

Located one block from St. Luke’s Fruitland Medical Complex, the new building is a one-story, 5,235-square-foot structure. It has four private, wheelchair accessible bedrooms with adjoining bathrooms, along with a living room, central kitchen and dining room, library, picnic tables, a grill and outdoor patio furniture.

More than a decade ago, Dr. Sarah Bolender, medical director for the Fruitland Mountain States Tumor Institute, was asked by St. Luke’s administration if she could do anything more to help patients, what would it be? She said a respite house would be a welcome addition.

“Patients are often too ill or tired from chemotherapy or radiation to travel back and forth between their homes and the clinic,” said Dr. Bolender. “They need an affordable and welcoming place to rest and recover so they don’t have to worry about winter roads or driving when they feel sick.”

During the ceremony, Dr. Bolender held up a poster board of her hand-drawn blueprint of the Respite House.

“I think this looks a whole lot better!” she said of the finished product. “It’s really a dream come true.”