“Our dream has come true, and we are doing precisely what we had hoped to do after all these years of planning,” said Mary Tavernini Dowling, CEO of the Hospitality House of the Upper Peninsula in a news release. “Every one of our 22 guest rooms has offered a good night sleep to people who have traveled across the U.P. and beyond to be with a loved one in a critical medical situation, or who are coming for lifesaving treatment for themselves. The response to our welcoming home has been overwhelmingly positive, and everyone appreciates the extra comforts we are so pleased to offer.”

Since opening its doors on Jan. 3, Beacon House has provided over 2,000 overnight stays, according to the release. Some of the guests stayed while a loved one had surgery and went home the next day, while others called the Beacon House home for nearly two months.

“At one point we had three different families staying with us to be near family members who had been in snowmobile accidents,” Dowling said. “We were astounded by the outpouring of love and support offered for these different families by their communities back home. All three accident victims were from outside the U.P., including a young man from Mexico, another from downstate Michigan and another from Kansas. They all had loved ones at their side around the clock during the most critical times when the outcomes were uncertain. We are in awe of the level of intensive care that our UP Health System medical professionals provide and that all three of these patients pulled through, thanks to the outstanding care and expertise offered here.”

The Mariucci Family Beacon House provided these three families and their extended families with nine of their 22 guest rooms, along with 24-hour support for their comfort needs. The hospitality team focuses on the guests’ comfort, making sure they have hot meals; quiet places to read, rest and refresh; someone to talk to about their concerns; a chapel and reflection room for spiritual support; and uplifting distractions like puzzles and board games.

From left, Steve Mariucci with accident victim Adrian Urbina from Mexico, along with Urbina’s father Carlos and Beacon House CEO Mary Tavernini Dowling. (Photo from The Steve Mariucci Family Beacon House)

Other guests of Beacon House in the first three months included more than 500 nights spent by patients undergoing cancer treatment, 130 nights for cardiac patient family members, 155 for neurology, spine and orthopedic surgery guests and families, as well as 90 nights for parents of prematurely born babies in the NICU.

In many of these instances, these families would not have been able to afford to be with their loved ones or receive the care for these extended periods of time. Beacon House is a donation-based operation, and simply asks the guests to donate what they can at the best level they can afford.

Beacon House has been in operation since 2002, has provided close to 350,000 overnight stays to those in medical crisis, saving them more than $65 million in meals and lodging expenses that many could not otherwise afford.