lookout point
JUST LIKE HOME
By Jackie Stark
T
he Beacon House was born, as most things are, out of necessity. And though its original location on Third Street in Marquette served the community well for nearly 18 years, when U.P. Health System-Marquette moved to its new location along the US-41 highway in Marquette, it felt like the right time to also move the Beacon House. Situated a stone’s throw from the new U.P. Health System-Marquette facility, the brand new Beacon House is as intentional a space as they come. “This is designed to be everything that we think anyone could possibly need,” said Mary Dowling, CEO of the Steve Mariuc-
ci Family Beacon House. “Just leave no stone unturned for loving and supporting and caring, and that’s what’s so magical. Guests will enter the building into a large reception area with huge, vaulted ceilings, plenty of natural light, and a desk manned by a volunteer ready to help them check in. Natural light is a theme throughout the building, with plenty of windows providing much needed warmth during what is likely to be a stressful time in the life of the facilities’ guests. Since the Beacon House’s inception, it has been a haven for those undergoing medical treatment and their families, providing more than 324,000 overnight stays, and saving families from across the Upper Peninsula more than
$64 million in lodging and meals. And all those stays provided plenty of insight into how to make the Beacon House better in every way – from accommodations to services. With construction delayed –as most things were–by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dowling said the extra time was used to home in on the best possible design for the new facility. “COVID put us all back–no one was giving money, people didn’t know if they were going to build anything,” Dowling said. “We poured through the plans and we said, ‘What else, what else, what else?’ We used every minute of COVID to improve it even more.” The new space provides 22 guest rooms, including two extended-stay rooms, a space dedicated to November 2021
Marquette Monthly
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