PROUD TO HELP PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES EVERYDAY AND IN EVERY WAY BRIAN WILLIAMS Compass Sales Team I joined Compass Furnished Apartments as a Reservation Specialist two years ago. On my first day with Compass, I learned about the Compass Cares program that provides comfortable housing for patients and families undergoing treatment at local hospitals. I immediately knew there was something different about working at Compass. My job was not just to sell apartments to our corporate clients. I learned quickly that there would be \"an entirely different, philanthropic side to my daily job. I would be tasked not so much with selling, but with helping families in need find a comfortable place to stay in what is an extremely stressful time in their lives. I remember vividly the first family I helped who needed housing close to Boston Children’s Hospital. We worked together to find a great place to stay that best fit their needs, as they needed to be in Boston for about a month. I had no idea how rewarding it would be to help people in this way. I truly believe the “little things” in life can make a big difference. For the families we help who are going through such a stressful time, even something seemingly small like a furnished apartment throughout their stay can really help. I’m so thankful that I get to be a part of our Compass Cares program, and I look forward to helping more and more families every day. 051
Patient Stories 052
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The Phinney Family Five years ago, my son George was diagnosed at just 6 weeks old with an incredibly rare neurological disorder. For the next three years, he would need emergency care and surgery on a regular basis at Boston Children’s Hospital. Our family had to travel back and forth from our home in Connecticut to the hospital, which was a nearly impossible task. We were put in touch with Eric Fleming during one of George’s emergency visits. George had just undergone the first of three brain surgeries. To say we were emotionally exhausted is just scratching the surface. From there, we learned that the years ahead with George would be hard (okay - really hard), but they would also welcome new relationships within our life, such as Compass. Before Compass, the housing options we saw were very sparse and not affordable for our family. The ideal options that we found close to the hospital were not accommodating, leaving us at a frustrating, concerning loss. Being connected to Eric Fleming was truly a blessing. The way he communicated, especially during these incredibly trying times for our family, was such a gift. Eric has a way with people that is hard to articulate. He took such great care in providing the logistics needed for our housing without creating an ounce of more stress. Once we got to the apartment, we were truly amazed! What started as a conversation with a truly compassionate and genuine person led to the gift and beauty of these apartments. After that there was no way we could stay anywhere else! So much is out of our control when our loved ones are sick. When emotional reserves are at all time low in caring 054
for a sick child, the human connection the staff at Compass provided is what impressed us most at first. From there, the comfort and appearance of the apartments were so uplifting. A place to put our things that weren‘t hospital bags, a bed that almost felt like home, and a shower that soothed away some of life‘s hardest burns was a gift that those at Compass may never know got us through our darkest days. You are doing amazing work that heals in some of the most beautiful ways. George is now a big brother! Baby sister, Lincoln, was born earlier this year so he‘s definitely learning to appreciate his new role. Overall, he has had a really solid last few months. He‘s on a handful of seizure medications given the epilepsy that was also found early on due to his neurological condition. We have moved closer to Boston Children’s Hospital, and I will have to say, that one drawback is we would feel selfish requesting a Compass apartment now. George attends a special needs school just down the road and we are incredibly blessed to have them as part of Team Georgie. George uses a KidWalk as his most favorite mode of transportation. A KidWalk is like a standing wheelchair that he can control and manipulate to give him much more freedom! We have also adapted a Kicksled for George so he can sled ride with his sister! His development is slow, but steady. We are being extra diligent given COVID, as some parts of his airway have been slow to develop, so when he gets a cold or some upper airway virus, things escalate pretty fast. Thankfully, we have many medications and interventions at home which help prevent an ER visit. However, George has made quite a few friends and I have to laugh when the ER nurses know him by first name! They are wonderful people, much like those at Compass. Thank you all ag ain for E V ERY TH I NG! You are all angels and I can ’ t have imagined going through this without Compass. 055
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The Francis Family Never have I worked with a company whose core values were so evident in the hearts of its employees like Compass. We recently completed a stay with Compass at The Harlo and every single point of contact was filled with kindness and compassion - from reservation, to check-in, and throughout the duration of our stay with extra special care from Kiara & Brian! We were guests through your partnership with the Hospitality Homes program and I don’t have words to describe what a profound impact your generosity has on families like ours. Two years ago, my husband and I received a call that no parent ever wants to hear – our son had been in a terrible accident. Unfortunately, his right foot was badly injured, and amputation was the only hope for him to regain the active lifestyle he loved. Blessed by the help and direction of many family, friends, and experts, he became one of the first 20 individuals to receive an innovative amputation surgery in Boston that is changing the game for amputees. To access this pioneering care, we traveled to Boston from Illinois for his surgery, rehab, and prosthetic care. Thanks to God, and our son’s great courage and attitude, he was back to rock climbing, sailing, surfing, skiing/snowboarding, and hiking shortly after receiving his prosthetic leg! He returns to Boston regularly for ongoing care with his groundbreaking surgical and prosthetic team. Care that he literally cannot get anywhere else. Thanks to your compassionate collaboration with Hospitality Homes, finding and affording a home away from home to receive cutting-edge care is possible! We are so very grateful! 057
Kennedy’s Story Katie sailed through her pregnancy. Already parents of three, Katie and her husband Luke weren‘t overly concerned about their unborn child, especially since all screening tests had indicated nothing out of the ordinary. They were overjoyed at the arrival of their baby girl, Kennedy, at a hospital in their home state of Florida. Minutes after the birth, the doctors and nurses placed the newborn into Katie‘s arms. Maternal instinct kicked in, and Katie mouthed to Luke, “Something looks different.” And it was. What Katie had immediately noticed was that the right side of Kennedy‘s face was smaller than the left, her right ear was missing and her forehead came to a point in the middle. The hospital staff whisked the baby into the NICU for a thorough examination, discovering a series of anomalies mostly down the center of Kennedy‘s body. Katie and Luke learned that Kennedy had metopic craniosynostosis, which happens when the two bones in the forehead close prematurely, causing a triangular appearance. She also had hemifacial microsomia, or underdevelopment of one side of the face; two holes in her heart; a spinal cord that was tethered to tissue at the bottom of the spine, limiting motion; and a rectovestibular fistula, a malformation in the lower end of the digestive tract. Kennedy‘s underdeveloped jaw meant she had trouble nursing, so doctors had to put in a 058
gastrointestinal tube to provide her with proper nutrition. To fix Kennedy‘s forehead, local doctors wanted to perform a surgery that would have involved breaking and removing part of her skull, reshaping it, then “gluing” it back in. Katie and Luke were reluctant to have their baby undergo such an invasive procedure, so they began researching Kennedy‘s cranial condition online. While researching, the couple found a video of Boston Children‘s Neurosurgeon-in-Chief Mark Proctor, MD mentioning a minimally invasive surgery for this condition – this 9 second video changed their lives. Luke and Kennedy flew to Boston for a second opinion. Dr. Proctor put together an interdisciplinary team to care for Kennedy, and shortly after Kennedy and Luke arrived at Boston Children‘s, he performed a successful endoscopic surgery on her forehead. It would be the first of three surgeries Kennedy would undergo at our hospital. While Kennedy was receiving care by her medical team, Luke was able to take a moment away from the stressors of being a caregiver himself and use the services provided by the Hale Family Center for Families. The caring hospital staff members helped him with internet access, arranged for stress-relieving massages, gym passes, a free haircut and provided coffee to fuel to continue caring for Kennedy. The team even played with Kennedy and cleared out rooms for her to nap between medical appointments. “Thanks to donors like Compass Furnished Apartments and their support for patient family services, caregivers like myself are able to take a moment to themselves knowing their child’s care is in the best hands possible,” says Luke. Today, Kennedy is thriving. Though she will require future surgeries, including one on her jaw, she is happy and healthy, to her family‘s delight. Kennedy is now enrolled in several ongoing studies at Boston Children’s, including in the Division of Genetics and Genomics, where researchers are searching for clues to her constellation of birth anomalies. In the meantime, she is “loving life”, according to Katie and Luke. The remarkable work happening at Boston Children’s is made possible by the support of donors like Compass Furnished Apartments. Because of you, families can have one less worry knowing their child is receiving the best care possible. Thank you for all you do for kids like Kennedy. 059
The Elwell’s I was in Boston (from Georgia) for an allogeneic stem cell transplant for refractory lymphoma with my older sister as my donor. We chose Dana Farber because of their reputation and proximity to family. My husband and I both grew up and lived in Maine and New Hampshire all our lives until retirement. Boston feels like home. I had already had standard chemo, an autologous stem cell transplant, CAR-T as part of a clinical trial, and one other clinical trial, all in Georgia since my September 2016 original diagnosis. A second transplant was deemed my only hope for a cure. We had relocated to Atlanta twice for treatment and I did not look forward to a third stint, this time at least four months away from my home in Savannah with its beautiful private courtyard garden, my dog and cat, and the historic district’s 22 glorious squares all within walking distance. It was very important that we had a safe, comfortable place to stay, preferably one that allowed pets so we could have our dog Bella join us at some point. With The Harlo we found just that. Our apartment was a home away from home from day one. It had a well- equipped kitchen, which was important since I had to home-cook all of my food due to stringent dietary 060
The beautiful park around the corner from The Harlo - sent from Jane Elwell restrictions after the transplant. There was also a washer and dryer in the unit, again important due to my need to be in as clean and germ-free space as possible (COVID certainly made everything even more of a challenge). We appreciated the measures taken at the Harlo to keep residents safe during COVID. The location was fantastic (with a grocery store and Target next door), a great area for walking, and came equipped with some lovely squares and gardens for my outdoor fix. A 24-hour concierge made us feel secure. Both The Harlo management and Brian Williams at Compass were extremely helpful and quick to respond. We were able to get Bella midway through our stay. Having her with us helped our emotional health greatly. Having someone available to help us with the little things so we could concentrate on treatment and healing was so important, especially while being away from our usual support systems. Compass provided that for us. For that, we are so grateful. 061
The McCombs My precious granddaughter, Celease was born in November 2019 with a large hole in her heart that encompassed all four of her chambers. In addition to that, her esophagus was not attached to her stomach. While we knew from multiple ultrasounds that my daughter had (Celease’s mother), we could see that she had a hole in her heart, but that was the only complication we knew of. We were in complete shock when finding out about her esophagus. Celease had her first surgery at 4 days old to attach the esophagus to the stomach. Thirty days after that, Celease ended up with RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and her stay in the hospital was lengthened due to the damage RSV had caused to her lungs. Finally, Celease was able to go home when she was 2 months old. She was home for a total of three weeks, which during that time she ended up with double pneumonia and had to go back to the hospital. With Celease still struggling with her bad heart and damaged lungs, she had her first open heart surgery at 4 months old. She remained in the hospital and was not making much progress. It was then discovered that she also had blocked airways, so her mother started researching and trying to fund her help. She discovered Boston Children‘s Hospital and their esophageal department while carrying out her research. Once insurance was on board, Celease was flown out at the age of 7 months. After arriving at the hospital, Celease had a full evaluation done and we found out that she needed another full open heart surgery six days after her arrival. Celease almost didn‘t survive that surgery. 062
She ended up having four additional procedures over the course of three months. Celease finally flew home at the end of three months and has been home ever since. Since then, she’s been starting to grow, develop, and get an adorable personality. She’s such a wonderful blessing and I appreciate not only Boston Children‘s Hospital, the staff, doctors and nurses there, but also Compass. The hospital social worker gave us several places that would accommodate us while in Boston - Compass being one throughout the entire process. Compass was reasonably priced, very clean, located in a nice area, and came with everything we wanted. It was nice to be able to go back to Compass in the evening and try to have some sort of normal; a way to get away from the stress. Brian was such a blessing and I can‘t thank him and the entire Compass team enough. If we have to go back to Boston, we will absolutely get in touch with Compass again. 063
Where Are They Now? 064
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The Anderson’s Last Year’s Story It took our family a year and a half to find our way to Boston Children’s Hospital after our son had the “perfect storm of illness” hit him on Christmas morning 2016 that changed our life forever. “Compass gives our family moments together when we have been apart...” 066
The Check In “Over the last six months, we have continued our journey with our son at Boston Children’s Hospital and have continued to face hardship after hardship. Not only does his case and medical history grow more and more complicated with each trip, but the heartache continues as well. We watch our physicians walk through very tough decisions, trying so hard to come up with the best plan for our son, all while so much of what he faces has a lot of unknowns. He just recently failed at oral medications to help with the multiple urticarias, but then facing the expense of needing his injections was another hurdle. To know that in order to help one diagnosis we have to make another one worse is never a good place to be in. Our team of physicians has continued to grow and our family continuously has to make very hard decisions with what is best for our son. Traveling to Boston every four weeks for medical care is such a stressful time for us, but one things has been consistent and that’s our love for Compass and their staff. To have the security of a safe place, alongside a community of people who are striving to help families like ours, is truly a blessing. To know that we can email and call with whatever we need is a blessing. But more than that, to know they want to help us and that we’ll never be a bother allows us to freely communicate our needs. If there is one thing that we can rest assure in, is that you will get top notch service and apartments when working with Compass. Although our son’s condition may change, the care we get from Compass will always be above and beyond what anyone else is offering. They truly go above and beyond in everything they do and I am so thankful we found them.” - Sue Anderson 067
Capalbo Strong Sticks Out For Charlie Last Year’s Story In March 2017, our family received the most upsetting news. Our strong, healthy, hockey playing teenager, Charlie, had cancer. A tumor in his chest. An unspeakable diagnosis. 068
The Check In The Capalbo family has such a special place in Compass’ hearts. Charlie Capalbo, the 22 year old former standout Fairfield CT hockey goalie, has been diagnosed with cancer for the third time. This third battle is going to be the toughest. After having beaten lymphoma and leukemia, he is now preparing to face off with leukemia again. Since hearing the news of Charlie’s relapse, many people have been asking how they can help. The “Sticks Out For Charlie” campaign has been such a heartwarming success (see photos below). Those wanting to support Charlie and his family can pray, send love, donate to the “Charlie Capalbo - Be Strong” GoGundMe page, join the “Friends of Charlie Capalbo” Facebook page, purchase merch from The Two Oh Three’s #CapalboStrong collection, and keep Charlie and his family in your thoughts. The Compass Crew is here and, as always, sending our love, support, and prayers to Charlie and the entire Capalbo family. 069
The MacLaury’s Last Year’s Story A two week long headache that led to a diagnosis of a 3cm brain mass, and a journey of two and a half years from headaches to remission. “Sometimes real superheroes live in the hearts of little children facing big battles” The Check In “Graham is doing well. Next week is his almost 2.5 years post treatment MRI. Fingers crossed for that one. For school, he is fully remote as a high risk kiddo which is a bit lonely but he has been able to participate in downhill skiing since it is outside. He adopted a puppy, Phoebe, in June. She adores him almost as much as he adores her. He also ran a virtual Falmouth Roadrace last August. For this summer, he hopes for a baseball season and summer camp.” - Emily MacLaury 070
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What’s Ahead 2021 will be a year of expansion, partnership, and creativity. The growth and adaptations made throughout 2020’s pandemic will carry on within the new year - helping more families in need and becoming a vital resource for frontline workers. 2020 opened our eyes in more ways than one. It has allowed us to find new, creative ways to help those needing safe and comfortable shelter, including our heroic healthcare providers, students, university staff, patients, families, and those throughout the entire frontline. In 2021, we’ll be focused on our ‘outside-of-the-box’ mentality. We’ll be engaging more partners, foundations, non-profits, clients, and other housing providers to create a bigger community with an even bigger impact. - Chris Fleming, CEO of Compass Furnished Apartments 072
The most powerful force in the world that can change the lives of millions of people is: C O M PA S S I O N Steven Aitchinson 073
Get Involved Together, we can do so much more. You too can help make the difficult things simple, EVERY DAY and in EVERY WAY. In Kind Donations. We are always looking for like-minded companies who want to extend their services or product to our Compass Cares Residents. Join our community by emailing: [email protected] Par tner. Join our team of corporate and non-profit partners to make an impact through opportunities like sponsoring an apartment floor, adopting a family, or sponsoring an event. Interested? Email us at: [email protected] Like Us. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@compassfurnapts) to stay up to date on our latest news, photos, and videos. 074
THANK YOU PROUD TO HELP PATIENTS AND This program would not be where it is today without the THEIR FAMILIES community we have by our side. From the bottom of EVERYDAY AND our hearts, we want to express our sincerest thank you. IN EVERY WAY Working together to make the difficult things simple is the foundation of our Compass Cares program and we‘ve created the most compassionate and ready community fueled by love and support. A special thank you to all of our contributors, vendors, parters, organizations, clients, family, friends, patients and their families. You are the reason we continue to do what we do. 075
CONTACT US 8 6 6 . 6 71.1212 [email protected] compasscares.org ABOUT COMPASS Compass Furnished Apartments creates living environments and relocation experiences for both short-term and long-term stays throughout the Northeast. We strive to reduce stress when moving to a new area whether temporarily or permanently. This allows our guests to acclimate quickly and focus on their task at hand. Our forward-looking approach to technology and sustainable business practices - coupled with our experience in evaluating and fulfilling the specific needs of every client - lead many to choose Compass for their furnished apartment needs. compasscorp.com ABOUT COMPASS CARES Compass Cares is an initiative of Compass Furnished Apartments established to help patients and their families EVERY DAY and in EVERY WAY. Our company culture is based on COMPASSion, and we feel a sense of duty to use our time to help each other and our community, and make the difficult things simple. compassscares.org
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