8 Community News
Ponte Vedra Recorder · November 5, 2015
Gabriel House offers care for cancer, transplant patients
Non-profit provides lodging, support and a sense of community
By Jennifer Logue
June was a 26-year-old woman pursuing a Master’s degree in Biology when
she received the news no one wants to
hear: She had cancer.
A rare form of cancer, in fact, that
would require her to have a bone marrow transplant. While June was fortunate
that her sister was a 90 percent match,
she soon learned that treating her illness
would necessitate putting her studies on
hold and traveling to Jacksonville from
North Dakota for several months of treatment and follow-up care.
Fortunately for June, her social worker referred her to Jacksonville’s Gabriel
House of Care. From May through December of 2014, June and her mother received extended-stay lodging, free shuttle transportation to and from the Mayo
Clinic and the opportunity to participate
in a host of therapeutic programs aimed
at calming the fear and anxiety experienced by many cancer patients. When
June’s cancer recurred in early 2015, she
returned to Gabriel House for another
eight-month stay before leaving with a
positive prognosis for the future.
Compassion, camaraderie, community
June is not alone. She is one of more
than 1,000 guests who visit Gabriel
House each year, seeking affordable
lodgings, access to top-notch medical
care and a place where they can maintain some semblance of a normal life and
routine, often while hundreds and even
thousands of miles from home.
“Imagine what it would be like to be
away from your home for weeks or even
months, receiving medical treatments
for a life-threatening illness,” Executive
Director Valerie Callahan said. “Gabriel
House tries to help alleviate some of the
financial and emotional burdens for adult
cancer and organ transplant patients.”
Opened in 2011 through a generous
gift from Jorge and Leslie Bacardi, of Bacardi Rum fame, Gabriel House provides
extended-stay lodging and support services to adults receiving cancer and organ transplant treatments at Jacksonville
hospitals. Situated by a picturesque lake
on the Mayo Clinic campus, the 37,000
square-foot facility features 30 rooms
that can accommodate an average of 100
guests per night. Guests typically stay for
anywhere from six weeks to more than
a year. A nominal nightly charge is augmented by private donations, as Gabriel
House receives no state or federal funding support.
Home away from home
While at Gabriel House, guests
have access to a library, reflection
room, great rooms with large-screen
TVs, a large communal kitchen, laundry facilities and a fitness room. Perhaps even more important, however,
is the support Gabriel House guests
receive from staff, volunteers and one
another.
“The power of Gabriel House is that
it creates a community for our guests,”
Callahan said. “It’s really more of a
home than a hotel: When you live in
the same house, cook your meals in
the same kitchen, and watch TV in the
same common area with people who
are all going through the same thing
you’re going through, you become a
community.”
Special programs
That sense of community is strengthened by the numerous support programs
Gabriel House offers its guests and their
caregivers. Through the home’s Integrative Medicine program, licensed psychotherapists conduct classes in stress
reduction and “mindfulness” to help alleviate depression and anxiety. Other offerings include yoga classes, art therapy
and cooking classes designed specifically for patients with compromised immune systems.
While Gabriel House offers lodging and services only for adults, Callahan noted that the nonprofit is
now seeing an increasing number
of older teenagers requiring an orCARE continues on Page 10