Where severe burn victims go for help, there’s now a new healing center
Sometimes, it’s firefighters.
Sometimes, it’s the people they save.
The most serious burn victims in the Upper Midwest, including Sioux Falls, often are treated at Hennepin County Medical Center’s Level 1 burn unit in Minneapolis.
But that’s just the start of their story.
Soon, many will be able to transition to the Transitional Healing Center, connected by skyway to the medical center. It’s designed for victims and their families as they recover from injuries and run by Firefighters for Healing, a nonprofit serving families from Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Last week, a team from Ashley Retail and Sioux Falls-based Furniture Mart USA partnered on a product donation to furnish the new first-of-its-kind Transitional Healing Center for Firefighters for Healing.
The donation, worth more than $40,000, included various living room and bedroom furnishings and mattresses for 12 one-bedroom suites for families of burn center patients.
The new facility is scheduled to open after the first of the year.
“At the heart of our mission is a strong sense of service and giving back to our communities,” said Bill Hinks, founder and chairman of Furniture Mart USA. “With three generations actively working in our family-owned business, we are honored to help turn this new Healing Center into a home for Firefighters for Healing and the first responders, burn survivors and families that they will support.”
The $6 million Transitional Healing Center in downtown Minneapolis will be available at no cost to families of burn survivors, firefighters and first responders when they travel to the Twin Cities for care.
The goal was to create a calm and therapeutic environment that provide the needed space for families to gather and recharge, and patients to transition to before heading home, the organization said.
“When a first responder has a medical diagnosis or a child or adult has sustained burn trauma, the family is forced into weeks or months of unique challenges,” said founder and executive director Jake LaFerriere.
“Our Transitional Healing Center will provide 24/7 relief for families by providing emergency housing and a wide range of support. I know firsthand the power of having family close by when you’re recovering in the hospital. Thanks to our friends at Furniture Mart and Ashley, these families will directly experience the positive impacts of feeling comfortable and cozy while staying in one of our home-away-from-home suites.”
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