The Wege Foundation has donated $1 million to Saint Mary's Health Care to help develop a guest house for out-of-town patients and their families. The foundation and hospital are located in Grand Rapids, Mich.
The three-story, 15-room guest house will offer accommodation options for people who must travel from outside the Grand Rapids area to receive care at Saint Mary's, or for the family members who accompany them. The facility is under construction and set to open later this spring.
The donor, the Wege Foundation, provides funding for projects in Western Michigan related to the environment, education, the arts and health and human services. It already has given grants for a learning center, holistic care institute, cancer center and neuroscience center at Saint Mary's.
Peter Melvin Wege launched the foundation in 1967 in honor of his parents Peter Martin Wege — the founder of Grand Rapids' Steelcase furniture company — and Sophia Louise Wege. Saint Mary's will name the guest house Sophia's House in the mother's honor.