Kathy’s House

When Kim Lamansky was 16, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Her family didn’t have a place to stay near the hospital where she received treatment, and so her father bought a 15-foot camper van. “We’d drive her back and forth to the Mayo Clinic every day and then go back to this campground and stay in this camper,” Lamansky says. “It was very challenging.”

Decades later, when Lamansky heard that Kathy’s House was searching for a new president and CEO, she remembered those long days and nights and how difficult it was on her family. She enthusiastically pursued the opportunity to lead the organization and was officially named president and CEO in March.

Kathy’s House is a hospital guest house that provides affordable lodging and support for families who need to travel to Milwaukee for medical care. Without Kathy’s House, many families could not access the care they need. Often, patients who are undergoing clinical trials or receiving advanced care for serious illnesses like cancer are required to stay close by the hospital for weeks or months at a time.

“Kathy’s House is an incredible blessing for families,” says Lamansky, who was most recently the executive director of a free medical clinic in Illinois. “At Kathy’s House, they have access to a kitchen, dining room, laundry, library, fitness center and more.”

Kathy’s House opened in 2001 and now operates a 38-room house near Froedtert Hospital, with a full suite of accommodations. “For our guests, we become a second home,” says Lamansky. “That’s thanks to our phenomenal guest services team. They take the time and make the effort to really be there for each of our guests. These little touches are so meaningful when someone is going through something difficult.”

The little touches are just one piece of the larger puzzle that Kathy’s House is working to solve in providing access to care. Lamansky hopes to continue finding new ways to expand and improve Kathy’s House services and grow the nonprofit’s donor base so that it can continue to serve more families for many years to come.