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| The Haven House St. Louis Missouri |
Recently I had the opportunity to stay at the Haven House in St. Louis Missouri
while my three bilateral clubfoot sons were being seen by Dr. Dobbs at the
Shrine Hospital.
Haven House runs on the same principal as the Ronald McDonald House. This
is a place where parents can stay while their children are seeking medical care
from one of the local hospitals in and around St. Louis, Missouri. As with all
areas of my website here, my mission is to let parents know, from another
parent's point of view, what they can expect and how they can make their
clubfoot treatment process easier and better. After spending a couple days at
the Haven House in St. Louis, I felt it was necessary for me to create this page
so other parents don't go in to the Haven House blind, as I did.
According to the Haven House website, the house includes
That sounds pretty amazing, but what the website doesn't mention is that the
"non-deluxe" rooms given on the lower floor are nothing of the sort in my
experience. The room given to myself and my three children had 4 twin size
beds. That's OK - but there was no alarm clock, no telephone, no television,
not one single picture on the wall, and no bath soap. Three of the four wall
outlets in the room did not work; a lamp was plugged in with an extension cord
strung behind a bed pushed up against a wall (umm, can we say "fire hazard" ?)
Who knew one had to bring their own clock and bath soap!
The Haven House website goes on to say,
In my list of tips one should know before staying at Haven House St. Louis
Missouri, Tip #1 is "Bring your own food." My boys and I arrived on a
Sunday afternoon after traveling nine hours by car and plane to get there; we
had no car of our own in St. Louis and the ground was covered with a foot of
freshly fallen snow. We had no means to get our own food and were stuck with
whatever Haven House provided, which wasn't much.
Unlike the Ronald McDonald House that has donated groceries families can
help themselves to, Haven House St. Louis has no such stock. You eat what
they give you, buy your own elsewhere, or do without. And what they
give you is not the nutritious breakfasts and dinners they claim.
Our first dinner at Haven House was a cold piece of chicken, a small container
of potato salad, a roll and a bottle of water.
Breakfast the next day was a small ice cream scoop of under-cooked
scrambled eggs, a slice of boiled (steamed?) sausage, and one slice of toast
with a small carton of milk. Do you know any children who will eat wiggly-raw
eggs? Me neither, so our breakfast was one thin slice of sausage and one
piece of white bread toast.
Dinner the following night was one piece of roasted chicken, and a small side
dish.
Breakfast on our 2nd morning there was amazing: we were given one half raw
fried egg, one very thin slice of bacon (like you get on a bacon-burger at
Burger King), one biscuit, and sugared gravy on the biscuit If I had any clue
whatsoever the cook would sweeten what appeared to be sausage
gravy I would have declined it because it was the most grossest
tasting junk I ever had on a plate and I am not a picky eater (except raw
eggs). With our biscuit ruined by gravy neither my kids nor myself could eat
with out literally gagging on it, and a raw egg neither my children or myself
could eat, that left us with that one see-through slice of bacon and a carton of
2% milk to live off of until dinner.
All this is yours for $25.00 per night. Upstairs suits run $50 to $75.00 each.
By comparison, the St. Louis Missouri Ronald McDonald Houses
operate differently than the Haven House. The biggest key difference is
that a family can reserve a room at Haven House and be guaranteed of having
a room. As with all Ronald McDonald Houses, the ones in St. Louis operate on
a waiting-list system, first come first serve so families should always have a
back up plan in the works. In my seven years of using the RMD house in Iowa
City however, only twice did we not get a room on the day we needed a room,
forcing us to use a hotel for a night.
Unlike Haven House though, the RMD houses do have donated groceries
families can eat from as they wish, needing only to provide their basic
perishables such as milk, or other things they want. If you're not a picky eater
though, the RMD will have plenty for you to choose from and feed your family
with.
Another advantage of the RMD is that there is a phone in every room, and
while the Haven House imposes a 9:45 PM cerfew on guests each night.
(Yes, this means you are required to be in your room by 9:45 PM) RMD only
asks that guest observe quiet hours after 10 PM. You may still stay up to
watch TV, cook, play a card game or anything that will not disturb those who
are trying to sleep in their rooms.
Additionally, the RMD rooms are $5.00 per night and volunteers cook meals
almost nightly if you choose to eat them rather than cook your own.
The Haven House serves a need, and for that, I am thankful they are there.
But having stayed weeks upon weeks at the Ronald McDonald House in Iowa
previously, I was very disappointed in the Haven House. The halls were kept
dim and there was a dark, silent, tomb-like feel to the place, much like a low-
rent nursing home. No where in the house did I feel "welcome". To the
contrary it was more like I was putting them out by being there.
While they say on their website they provide a stress-free place to stay, I found
the silence and darkness depressing; the lack of staff was annoying;
and the nursing-home decor was disappointing in a place geared
towards children. When my bathroom light bulb blew out I figured it would
take longer to find a staff member and that staff member find a bulb, a step
ladder and a screw driver for the light shade than it was worth it on our last day
there. When I was checking out with three small kids and all our luggage,
nobody offered to assist me with my loads. When my baby spilled his milk at
breakfast, there were no readily available towels to mop up the spill before it
got all over him and the floor (I had to go in the kitchen and ask the cook for
towels). Breakfast was served late, giving us fifteen minutes to eat and catch
our shuttle ride to the hospital. The shuttle driver was not helpful in getting my
children, baby buggy, diaper bag or myself in while we stumbled around on the
icy parking lot. We were not offered a tour and found what we found just on
our own wandering around.
I found myself wishing that the Haven House director could travel nine hours
through airports with small children on a very tight budget that didn't account
for eating the high price airport food, arrive exhausted and starving with her
children and suit cases and live there on that food and in that depressing
silence like we had to.
All is not lost though. Now that I've been there, I know what to expect, how to
plan better, what to take with me, and to budget for food somehow. Click here
to read the list of tips I have written so your stay at the Haven House in St.
Louis can be better than ours was.
while my three bilateral clubfoot sons were being seen by Dr. Dobbs at the
Shrine Hospital.
- All is not lost though. Now that I've been there, I
know what to expect, how to plan better, what to
take with me, and to budget for food somehow.
Click here to read the list of tips I have written so
your stay at the Haven House in St. Louis can be
better than ours was.
Haven House runs on the same principal as the Ronald McDonald House. This
is a place where parents can stay while their children are seeking medical care
from one of the local hospitals in and around St. Louis, Missouri. As with all
areas of my website here, my mission is to let parents know, from another
parent's point of view, what they can expect and how they can make their
clubfoot treatment process easier and better. After spending a couple days at
the Haven House in St. Louis, I felt it was necessary for me to create this page
so other parents don't go in to the Haven House blind, as I did.
According to the Haven House website, the house includes
- "five second story comfortably-appointed bedrooms/suites have the
same special amenities as local hotels, plus care and support you need
when a loved one's needs are your main concern.
* Local access phones in each room
* Wireless Internet
* Cable television in each room
* Large, comfortable kitchen
* Laundry facilities"
That sounds pretty amazing, but what the website doesn't mention is that the
"non-deluxe" rooms given on the lower floor are nothing of the sort in my
experience. The room given to myself and my three children had 4 twin size
beds. That's OK - but there was no alarm clock, no telephone, no television,
not one single picture on the wall, and no bath soap. Three of the four wall
outlets in the room did not work; a lamp was plugged in with an extension cord
strung behind a bed pushed up against a wall (umm, can we say "fire hazard" ?)
Who knew one had to bring their own clock and bath soap!
The Haven House website goes on to say,
- "Many families have no resources for meals and rely upon Haven House
St. Louis for nutritious breakfasts and dinners during a stressful stay in
St. Louis. Weekend meals are provided by restaurants and volunteers,
who prepare meals for 25 to 50 people."
In my list of tips one should know before staying at Haven House St. Louis
Missouri, Tip #1 is "Bring your own food." My boys and I arrived on a
Sunday afternoon after traveling nine hours by car and plane to get there; we
had no car of our own in St. Louis and the ground was covered with a foot of
freshly fallen snow. We had no means to get our own food and were stuck with
whatever Haven House provided, which wasn't much.
Unlike the Ronald McDonald House that has donated groceries families can
help themselves to, Haven House St. Louis has no such stock. You eat what
they give you, buy your own elsewhere, or do without. And what they
give you is not the nutritious breakfasts and dinners they claim.
Our first dinner at Haven House was a cold piece of chicken, a small container
of potato salad, a roll and a bottle of water.
Breakfast the next day was a small ice cream scoop of under-cooked
scrambled eggs, a slice of boiled (steamed?) sausage, and one slice of toast
with a small carton of milk. Do you know any children who will eat wiggly-raw
eggs? Me neither, so our breakfast was one thin slice of sausage and one
piece of white bread toast.
Dinner the following night was one piece of roasted chicken, and a small side
dish.
Breakfast on our 2nd morning there was amazing: we were given one half raw
fried egg, one very thin slice of bacon (like you get on a bacon-burger at
Burger King), one biscuit, and sugared gravy on the biscuit If I had any clue
whatsoever the cook would sweeten what appeared to be sausage
gravy I would have declined it because it was the most grossest
tasting junk I ever had on a plate and I am not a picky eater (except raw
eggs). With our biscuit ruined by gravy neither my kids nor myself could eat
with out literally gagging on it, and a raw egg neither my children or myself
could eat, that left us with that one see-through slice of bacon and a carton of
2% milk to live off of until dinner.
All this is yours for $25.00 per night. Upstairs suits run $50 to $75.00 each.
By comparison, the St. Louis Missouri Ronald McDonald Houses
operate differently than the Haven House. The biggest key difference is
that a family can reserve a room at Haven House and be guaranteed of having
a room. As with all Ronald McDonald Houses, the ones in St. Louis operate on
a waiting-list system, first come first serve so families should always have a
back up plan in the works. In my seven years of using the RMD house in Iowa
City however, only twice did we not get a room on the day we needed a room,
forcing us to use a hotel for a night.
Unlike Haven House though, the RMD houses do have donated groceries
families can eat from as they wish, needing only to provide their basic
perishables such as milk, or other things they want. If you're not a picky eater
though, the RMD will have plenty for you to choose from and feed your family
with.
Another advantage of the RMD is that there is a phone in every room, and
while the Haven House imposes a 9:45 PM cerfew on guests each night.
(Yes, this means you are required to be in your room by 9:45 PM) RMD only
asks that guest observe quiet hours after 10 PM. You may still stay up to
watch TV, cook, play a card game or anything that will not disturb those who
are trying to sleep in their rooms.
Additionally, the RMD rooms are $5.00 per night and volunteers cook meals
almost nightly if you choose to eat them rather than cook your own.
The Haven House serves a need, and for that, I am thankful they are there.
But having stayed weeks upon weeks at the Ronald McDonald House in Iowa
previously, I was very disappointed in the Haven House. The halls were kept
dim and there was a dark, silent, tomb-like feel to the place, much like a low-
rent nursing home. No where in the house did I feel "welcome". To the
contrary it was more like I was putting them out by being there.
While they say on their website they provide a stress-free place to stay, I found
the silence and darkness depressing; the lack of staff was annoying;
and the nursing-home decor was disappointing in a place geared
towards children. When my bathroom light bulb blew out I figured it would
take longer to find a staff member and that staff member find a bulb, a step
ladder and a screw driver for the light shade than it was worth it on our last day
there. When I was checking out with three small kids and all our luggage,
nobody offered to assist me with my loads. When my baby spilled his milk at
breakfast, there were no readily available towels to mop up the spill before it
got all over him and the floor (I had to go in the kitchen and ask the cook for
towels). Breakfast was served late, giving us fifteen minutes to eat and catch
our shuttle ride to the hospital. The shuttle driver was not helpful in getting my
children, baby buggy, diaper bag or myself in while we stumbled around on the
icy parking lot. We were not offered a tour and found what we found just on
our own wandering around.
I found myself wishing that the Haven House director could travel nine hours
through airports with small children on a very tight budget that didn't account
for eating the high price airport food, arrive exhausted and starving with her
children and suit cases and live there on that food and in that depressing
silence like we had to.
All is not lost though. Now that I've been there, I know what to expect, how to
plan better, what to take with me, and to budget for food somehow. Click here
to read the list of tips I have written so your stay at the Haven House in St.
Louis can be better than ours was.
The Haven House volunteer driving the van told us
to get in for our ride to the Shrine hospital. I stood
there with my three children (the little one on my
hip) and my baby buggy with another woman who
had a small girl in a stroller, a girl whose foot had
been amputated. I asked the driver, "Can you at
least back the van out of the snow so we don't have
to drag our kids through it?" Reluctantly, she
agreed, pulled out and sat by the heater while we
struggled to load ourselves on the ice.
Photo Left: Brian and Everett stand waiting to get in
the van at Haven House.
to get in for our ride to the Shrine hospital. I stood
there with my three children (the little one on my
hip) and my baby buggy with another woman who
had a small girl in a stroller, a girl whose foot had
been amputated. I asked the driver, "Can you at
least back the van out of the snow so we don't have
to drag our kids through it?" Reluctantly, she
agreed, pulled out and sat by the heater while we
struggled to load ourselves on the ice.
Photo Left: Brian and Everett stand waiting to get in
the van at Haven House.
