Ground Blessing for House of the Dove

Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital/Ministry Health Care held a ground blessing ceremony on October 15 at the new House of the Dove site located at the intersection of Schmidt Avenue and W Eleventh Street, in Marshfield. This location is the future home of a state-of-the-art facility for end-of-life care, which is currently located at 613 Western Street.
Most Reverend Jerome Listecki, Bishop of the LaCrosse Diocese provided the blessing of the new house grounds. Remarks were also shared by Michael Schmidt, President, Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital; Sr. Rita Adlkofer, Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother; Michael Kryda, MD, CEO, Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital; Steve Youso, CEO, Security Health Plan; and Chris Meyer, Mayor, City of Marshfield. There were leaders from the community, physicians and staff from Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Marshfield Clinic, Ministry Home Care and community members that attended the ceremony. After the ground breaking, there was a release of fifty white birds to represent doves. The birds circled the new site several times before heading home.
For twenty years, the remodeled convent for the Sisters has provided hospice care to those facing a terminal illness and unable to stay in their own home. “Excellent care, first by the Sisters and now by Ministry Home Care, is the critical piece and has always been provided at the House of the Dove,” stated Dr. Michael Kryda, CEO of Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital. “The new facility will allow us to expand that care to more patients, including infants and children as well as provide a much broader range of services to include acute care and respite care for hospice patients.”
Sister Rita Adlkofer provided a historical perspective on how and why the original House of the Dove was started in 1989. “It was founded to meet the needs of poor and suffering humanity. Our founders send our Sisters out into the world to do just that,” said Sister Rita Adlkofer. “That is our spirit and that continues to be our sprit in the future.”

• The new facility will be built on approximately 12 acres of land purchased in April 2008.
• The new House of the Dove will have twelve patient rooms with handicapped accessible restrooms, expanded family gathering areas, a chapel, large kitchen and dining areas.
• Project cost is estimated to be $4.5 million, which includes the land, design, building construction and medical equipment.
• Design Unlimited of Marshfield is the architect for the project and The Boson Company, also from Marshfield, was selected as general contractor.
• The new House of the Dove will be staffed and managed by Ministry Home Care. Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital will own the building and Marshfield Clinic palliative medicine physicians will round at the facility.
• Site preparation and construction is slated to begin in March 2010 with a completion date set for December 2010.

“Our promise to our patients is to earn trust by working together as One Ministry to keep PATIENTS FIRST in everything we do,” said Mike Schmidt, President of Ministry Saint Joseph’s Hospital. “Ministry Home Care has worked diligently to fulfill this promise since hospice care began. However, the very aged condition of the current home, the consistent maximum capacity of patients, and other facility limitations inspired us to build a new House of the Dove. Today we are one step closer in broadening the vision that will increase these vital services to the greater Marshfield area”.

Hospice Services and House of the Dove are mission-driven projects of Ministry Health Care; they are not profitable ventures. Ministry provides these services because it is the right thing to do for the community – they enhance the quality of the last months of life for people we serve. The community is asked to collaborate on this project and assist with fundraising to build the new facility. Ministry will continue to fund the losses of the new House of the Dove to ensure to continue care for everyone in the community, regardless of ability to pay. The campaign has currently raised $3.5 million of the $4.5 million goal. The community phase of the campaign will run for a year to raise the final million needed to complete the project. For information on the campaign, contact the Foundation office at 715.387.7557 or visit our website at ministryhealth.org

To see video clips of the ground blessing ceremony click here.