Economic Impact
HavenHouse St. Louis is our region's only hospital hospitality house that provides 24/7 full-service supports to patients and their families of all ages and conditions who are facing a medical crisis. We are a home away from home for patients and their family members, providing lodging, meals, support services and transportation to medical centers throughout the metropolitan area. The primary medical conditions facing patients and families in need of our housing and support include premature birth, cancer treatments, orthopedic and reconstructive surgeries, cardiac care, rehabilitation therapies, and transplants.
Our goals are to: (1) increase access to quality healthcare, (2) provide family-centered care (the family is the patient's primary source of strength and support), and (3) improve health outcomes for underserved and/or uninsured patients who travel to St. Louis for medical care. Primary sources of support for the organization are individual donors, corporate and foundation grants, corporate sponsorships and community partnerships.
Families travel to St. Louis to receive treatment in top ranked hospitals and medical facilities in search of exceptional care and even miracles. Naturally, accessing this care comes at a high price that our families simply cannot afford:
- 33% of the 3,000 families served each year have incomes below the Federal Poverty Level
- 66% fall below two times the Federal Poverty Level
- 82% fall below three times the Federal Poverty Level
These are families struggling to meet basic necessities in their own homes and are essentially too poor to be sick. The additional financial burdens, like hospital bills, hotels and decent meals can be the tipping point between sickness and health. "Medical problems cause 62% of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. and in a finding that surprised even the researchers, 78% of those filers had medical insurance at the start of their illness, including 60.3% who had private coverage, not Medicare or Medicaid."
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1Himmelstein, Thorne, Warren, & Woolhandler, Medical Bankruptcy in the United States, 2007: Results of a National Study (The American Journal of Medicine, 2009), Volume 122, Issue 8, Pages 741-746)
