Bob Kiesendahl received a life-saving bone marrow transplant in Seattle after a cancer diagnosis in 1998.
That experience inspired him to to fundraise for cancer research and patient care. He's a champion of a new project that will bring a permanent cancer respite center to his family's Pike County business.
“Cancer from my own perspective, and watching others go through it, takes over your life. So you lose control. You don't have time. You're just one appointment to the next," Kiesendahl said.
Kiesendahl, part of the third generation of family ownership at Woodloch Resort in Hawley, entered a partnership with For Pete’s Sake Cancer Respite Foundation.
The two organizations are set to open what they call a first of its kind cancer respite center adjacent to the Resort’s Poconos property in the fall of 2027.
"This week of getting away allows you to not only recharge physically and mentally, but it also allows you to really reconnect with your family because they're all going through this journey as well. It allows not just the patient but the entire family unit to just push pause for a few days and just escape,” Kiesendahl said.
Pete’s Dream at Woodloch
Marci Schankweiler preserves her husband’s legacy through her work. She founded For Pete’s Sake, based in Montgomery County, after she lost her husband to cancer in 1999.
The cancer respite center will offer families a chance to breathe.
“We provide good experiences to adult cancer patients and their families, and a respite experience really is a time to step away from what cancer has done with respect to your life, and to really just have a chance to reconnect, refresh, renew, and really rest and return home from respite really prepared to take on the next challenge that presents itself in your cancer journey,” Schankweiler said.
Pete’s Dream at Woodloch will provide specialized services for cancer patients and their families during a free five-night, six-day respite.
“Cancer is so financially debilitating for families. What we're trying to help them do is heal in ways that chemotherapy or radiation won't be able to do,” Schankweiler said.
Partners include Penn Medicine, Lehigh Valley Health Network, St. Luke’s, Jefferson Health, Geisinger and UPMC. Patients need to be referred by their oncology team. The respite center will at first serve For Pete’s Sake coverage area, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Maryland.
“Doesn't matter what type of cancer, but they're focused on middle-aged adults because they have found that they're a bit of an underserved age group,” Kiesendahl said.
Woodloch and For Pete’s Sake have been working together for more than a decade to provide respite services. The new center will give them a dedicated space to do so.
Complete with 20 rooms, For Pete’s Sake anticipates accommodating up to 16 families at a time at the center.
“What we do now when they come to the resort, it's limited to when we can take them because it's based on our occupancy levels. So this facility will be totally dedicated to those families,” Kiesendahl said.
Oncology professionals and data from previous respite recipients at Woodloch helped to design the respite center.
Services and activities include an art room where families can create art such as pottery, pool and water therapy, a family game room, nature trails, a yoga meditation space, a chapel and more. Guests also will have access to Woodloch’s amenities.
“The pottery is something that the family can keep forever and remember that they did it together," Kiesendahl said. "It is something that's a keepsake that has a deep meaning to it for them.”
$25M project supported with state funding
Construction of the 35,000 square-foot facility on 32 acres will cost $25 million. Work started this May.
State Sen. Lisa Baker, a Republican who represents the state’s 20th senatorial district, helped to secure state grants for the project.
They were awarded $3.5 million through the Pennsylvania redevelopment assistance capital program (RACP), Baker said.
“It is a state matching grant that is used for the design, acquisition, and construction of the facilities,” she explained.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office announced another $2 million “to support the construction and interior fit-out” of the respite center on July 16.
Baker said she will continue to support the project as it develops.
“Once they build it, we want to make sure it's successful and sustainable, and so we'll continue to work with them, searching out and finding both state, federal and other philanthropic gifts that can help make this a continued reality,” she said.
The senator said she’s proud of the trailblazing project in her district.
“It's just an incredible showcase of our beautiful region, and it just ties in so naturally with what Pike County is. Woodloch is our largest employer. The fact that they are viewed as world-class, first of its kind, to have it right in our backyard is just incredible,” Baker said.
The rest of the funding comes from private and philanthropic donations. Similarly, the respite center will rely on volunteers.
The respite center will take For Pete’s Sake from serving about 700 people annually to an estimated more than 4,000 when the respite center is at 100% occupancy. And a huge part of For Pete’s Sake’s mission is providing these services at no charge to families.
“This is a huge leap because we're helping more families than we ever have, but we know we can do this. We believe and we trust the process and we know that we live in such an amazing country and community," Schankweiler said. "Caring for thy dear neighbor is so critical, and we're excited to be like stewards to be able to do that.”
Kiesendahl said he appreciates the opportunity to share his family’s resort with those affected by cancer.
“Some of the folks that do come maybe would not be able to come even in the best of times,” he said. “From a financial perspective, being able to come and enjoy the natural rural scenic beauty, all the activities and facilities and all the meals and accommodations and there's no cost associated really takes the stress and strain out of that travel and that experience.”
ABOUT THE PROJECT
To learn more, visit petesdream.org.
