Restoring Hope Transplant House is a Wonderful Addition to our Community

by State Senator Jon Erpenbach

Many of you may have recently read about a wonderful new addition to the Madison-area community. Madison is known for its outstanding medical facilities, and families and patients come from around the state to receive world-renowned medical care.

The Herbst family has taken their experience and turned it into an opportunity for adult transplant patients and their families. When Brian Herbst’s father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell, he and his wife had the opportunity to stay in a facility in Minnesota, The Gift of Life Transplant House, which provided a sense of community and support for patients and their family members.

The Herbst family decided to bring the same kind of service here. It is the first house of its kind in our area for adults undergoing medical transplants. It will be a home away from home for adult patients receiving organ or other medical transplants in the Madison area. It is not a medical facility, but it is a caring, supportive environment for patients and their adult family members or caregivers that offers affordable, high-quality accommodations. Families can stay before, during, and after surgery, at a much less expensive rate than a hotel, and have the support of other families going through similar, difficult experiences.

Restoring Hope Transplant House, located at 7457 Terrace Avenue, in the historic Pierstorff House in Middleton, will be designed to offer both private and community space. For example, families will share kitchen, laundry, and living room space, where they can interact with other guests, but they will also have their own private room.

Cindy Herbst is the President of the Restoring Hope Transplant House and would like everyone to know that, “the house is owned by a non-profit in the name of Restoring Hope Transplant House, Inc. While the family had the dream to bring the Transplant House to Middleton, there is a board of directors that oversees the house and its operations.”

The Board of Directors consists of: Cindy Herbst (President and Executive Director), Dr. Walter Longo, Bone Marrow Transplant Director, UW Hospital and Clinics (Vice-President), Carrie Bennett-Barndt, Bennett-Barndt Enterprises, Inc.,(2^nd Vice President) Deana Jansa, Bone Marrow Transplant Program Manager, UW Hospital and Clinics, (Secretary) and Middleton Mayor Doug Zwank, (Treasurer).

As a non-profit organization, Restoring Hope will rely on donations. It is critical for them to raise funding to pay for the house and retire the mortgage, so they can turn their attention to caring for transplant patients as soon as possible. Volunteer opportunities are also available. I hope that as a community we can reach out and support such a wonderful endeavor.

For more information about the Restoring Hope Transplant House, including donation and volunteer information, please visit their website at www.restoringhope.org.