Families who travel thousands of miles for life-altering medical treatment at Pittsburgh’s many hospitals have received a new place to rest.
Family House in Shadyside recently unveiled a newly completed feature courtesy of a pair of philanthropists who have been spreading tens of millions across the city’s institutions for years.
Work on the Kamin Conservatory — a 530-square-foot enclosed “front porch” gathering space funded by a previously undisclosed donation from the Daniel G. and Carole L. Kamin Family Foundation — crossed the finish line with a Friday celebration that marked the December 2024 gift.
For more than 40 years, nonprofit Family House’s mission has been to offer safe, convenient, affordable housing as well as a network of support, comfort and compassion to out-of-town families dealing with medical crises, medical professionals and medical students alike.
“Everything we do at Family House comes back to one core belief, that people facing serious medical journeys should not have to face them alone,” said CEO John Plante.
On Friday afternoon, the conservatory welcomed throngs of guests into the porch space jutting out from a six-story building that served as the Shadyside Courtyard by Marriott hotel just a little over four years ago.
The building is along Liberty Avenue across the street from UPMC Shadyside hospital. It’s also near AHN West Penn Hospital in Bloomfield and the Pittsburgh VA hospital in Oakland.
”People don’t come here for vacation, they come here during a tough time in their lives,”Plante said. “What we know is that spaces like this where they can gather with each other, where they can just rest and relax and have quiet time and they’re not off at appointments or the hospital or visiting a loved one who is in the hospital, it gives them a moment to recharge.”
The conservatory — the work of Pittsburgh-based Kolano Design — is an open, airy space brightly lit by large black-trimmed windows and stuffed to the brim with verdant, green plants growing out of colorfully tiled pots.
It’s furnished with similarly tiled tables reminiscent of the Mediterranean style and white rocking chairs resting on sweeping beige pattern tiles. A large multi-colored butterfly painting serves as a statement piece for an area that will eventually host a fairy garden and musical guests.
“We know that interactions with each other, with other guests, with other staff, they impact a person’s recovery and their ability to recover,” Plante said. “There are a lot of mental and emotional things that go into recovery.”
Construction on the project began in May 2025 and finished up this spring.
It adds to a facility portfolio featuring 121 rooms that offer numerous amenities and living essentials at prices ranging from $75 (1 twin bed) to $148 a night (apartment). Recently, a self-funded “total” renovation project began on those rooms to make them feel “less like a hotel and more like a home,” Plante said.
Amenities available to the home away from home’s 18,000 guests who booked 35,700 room nights last year include: a communal food pantry and kitchen, free transportation, laundry and dining facilities, a library, a music room, commons spaces and meditation areas.
There is specialized programming that includes yoga, support groups, therapy dogs, volunteer-prepared meals and occasional tickets to area culture and entertainment events.
Helping families
The timing couldn’t have been better for Carey Rutigliano and his husband of 31 years, Scott Nance, who together traveled more than 2,000 miles from Tuscon, Ariz., Nance is fighting a terminal pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis he received in March 2023.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty around that. Not everybody is eligible for lung transplant,” said Nance, recalling being turned down for a transplant multiple times. “The trauma of, ‘This is getting worse. Am I just going to die, or am I going to have a chance to reset the clock?’ — I think that was probably the hardest part.”
During intermittent stays, the couple awaited a double-lung transplant at UPMC. They started a long-term stay in January with the surgery taking place February. Since then, they’ve been in a recovery mode that Nance termed “a double marathon” with its many challenges and appointments.
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