Smock native has facility named after him
To be honored when you’re dead is nice, but to be honored when you’re alive is something special. Fortunately for Dr. Donald Vrabec, a native of Smock, he was recently honored for his many years of caring for cancer patients at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, about 50 miles northeast of Harrisburg on the Susquehanna River.
Officials at the center dedicated their House of Care for Vrabec, who was one of the founders of the facility. It was built to house cancer patients who have to travel long distances to receive cancer treatment. The center serves patients from all over Pennsylvania since many rural areas don’t have radiation or chemotherapy treatments available. There is a suggested nightly donation of $15 per room, but patients who cannot afford to pay are still able to stay at the house.
Vrabec said he saw the need for such a facility because some patients were too sick for the constant travel involved in their cancer treatment, and some were even too sick to stay in hotels, Many patients died from cancer that would have been treatable, he said.
“We established the House of Care to provide low-cost lodging to adult cancer patients who, in a rural setting, often traveled more than 50 miles one way to receive treatment,” said Vrabec. “I’m proud to say that, nearly 18 years later, the House has not only fulfilled that vision, but has become a place where patients can talk with each other about their experiences, support each other and seek temporary respite from the mental strain of treatment.”
Vrabec said he knew nothing about the decision to dedicate the facility in his honor.
“I was totally surprised that they were going to do this,’ said Vrabec.
However, officials at the center said the decision wasn’t a surprise to anyone familiar with Vrabec’s work at the center.
“Since the House of Care opened, it has proved to be a huge success. Dr. Vrabec’s vision for the House of Care has provided patients and their families with invaluable service in times of crisis,” said Jay Smith, House of Care manager.
“A guest at the House put it well in saying that those who had the vision for the House should be proud of what they have accomplished.
“Dr. Vrabec has been nationally recognized for his work. The Hershey Medical Center modeled a house after the House of Care near its campus. There have been other medical centers as well as boards of free standing houses who have visited the House of Care and have taken the concept and recreated it on their campuses,” Smith added.
The House of Care project started in the late 1970s. The clinic’s board of directors thought it would be too much of a financial burden, but the founders of the House of Care were able to get funding for the facility through private donations and foundations. The groundbreaking was in April 1983, and the first guest was received in March 1984.
There was such a need for the House of Care that it started being used before it was even fully furnished, said Vrabec. The house now has 17 rooms and is able to host 31 patients. Priority is given to cancer patients, but a family member can stay with patients at the house.
The House of Care has served about 31,000 patients in the 18 years since it opened, and there have been guests from 66 Pennsylvania counties, 43 other states and 16 foreign countries.
Vrabec’s dedication also came as no surprise to his sister, Eleanor Vrabec, who still lives in Smock.
“He’s always been a good brother,’ said Eleanor Vrabec, noting that he has worked his whole life, starting as a youngster. “He always had jobs to help out the family. If I have a problem, I’m on the phone with him. He’s always been there for me.’
Vrabec, who was born in Smock and graduated from Uniontown High School, said he grew up in a time when there wasn’t much money around. He said this experience helped him to realize what is really important.
“You learn that it’s important to take care of people,” he said.
His father was a coal miner, and both his parents always emphasized the importance of higher education. His parents wanted their children to go on to college, even thought they didn’t know where the money would come from.
Vrabec said he worked in the steel mills at night while attending pharmacy school and then worked as a pharmacist while attending medical school.
Vrabec played football at Uniontown High School for the legendary Bill Power and attributed a lot of his success to him.
“He really talked to the guys and was interested in them going on to school,” said Vrabec, “He was very encouraging all the time.”