Celebrating Barnes Lodge

The former Barnes Hospital Plaza Auxiliary (prior to its merger in 2010 with the Jewish Hospital Parkview Auxiliary) recycled a former private residence to create Barnes Lodge. This “home away from home” was established to alleviate potential financial drain for extended term patients and their families who live outside of the St. Louis area. Barnes Lodge opened its doors with four guest bedrooms, a common kitchen, dining room, living room, TV lounge and laundry room.

Robert and Pauline Osowskis, who were receiving extended care at the hospital but lived two-and-a-half hours outside St. Louis, were two of the first guests at the Lodge. “I don’t know what we would have done if Barnes Lodge hadn’t been available to us,” Pauline said.

Barnes Lodge moved to a newly constructed 20-room, two-story building capable of serving 40 guests. The Barnes Hospital Auxiliary funded this expansion. The expansion was spearheaded by Barnes Hospital auxilians Mary Ann Fritschle, Darlene Roland, Norma Stern, and the late Martha Eyermann.

Matt Espiritu was in college and had just conquered a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado with his mother, Joyce Hallmark-Tanurchis, when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. When Matt succumbed to the disease in 1997, his mother established the Charles Matthew Espiritu Fund at The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital to keep his spirit alive. Matt’s fund is supported annually by donor gifts and supports cancer patients and their families each year by covering the incremental cost of staying at Barnes Lodge if the expense is a barrier for them.

Continuing its annual tradition, the Auxiliary hosted wine-tasting and trivia events to benefit Barnes Lodge.

At the annual Barnes Lodge holiday party, lodge guests and employees gathered to share a holiday meal. Guests participated in a mosaic project that, once complete, will bring warmth and energy to the Barnes Lodge kitchen.
The mosaic project was sponsored by The Foundation-funded ARTS + HEALTHCARE PROGRAM, which helps patients, caregivers and staff find strength and renewal in the midst of stress and sorrow, through enjoying or creating art.