The families of burn patients at St. Joseph Hospital have a new place to stay, and at a lower cost.

Three years in the making, the Northeast Indiana Burn Council showed off the new Burn Family Suites of Northern Indiana on Tuesday afternoon. The 1,600-square-foot area is located on the third floor of the medical office building, adjacent to the hospital.

The new suites offer four sleeping areas: two double rooms, a single room and a master suite that can accommodate three adults, or two adults and two children. There is one common bathroom and a bathroom off the master suite. A common room, kitchenette and new office space for the burn council are also part of the new space. Visitors will use key cards to access the area. The cost will be $10 per day, with a $10 deposit for the key card.

Douglas Rodenbeck, the state's chairman of Lions Clubs International, says they raised $170,000 to make the suite possible and it was the state Leo Club, which is the junior division of the Lions Club, that spearheaded the fundraising for the project. They are still raising money so the center can have overhead spending costs for a year.

A symbolic ribbon cutting and guided tours were given to guests on Tuesday. Tom Long was among those who spoke; he and wife Laurie spent 70 days in Fort Wayne while their son Jordan, now 21, was recovering from burns.

Jordan Long suffered burns to 48 percent of his body, primarily on his upper torso, after being involved in a gasoline flash fire. He was in a coma for a month and the doctors told the Longs he might lose his lips, nose, ears and one of his hands. He had to use a ventilator for a long period of time, but doctors assured the Longs that Jordan get better, and he did. He was able to heal and not lose any of his features.

"He was in really bad shape," said Tom Long.

The Longs live in Rochester and spent a week sleeping on couches in the waiting room of the burn unit at St Joseph Hospital.

"I figured out how to stick my feet over the arm of the couch onto the table so I could stretch out," said Tom Long. Laurie Long, who was shorter, fit on the couch. After a week, they moved to what was then the downtown Holiday Inn.

"My cell phone bill was $800 a month; it would have been really nice to be able to use the internet to let people know how Jordan was doing," said Tom Long, admiring the computer the suite has for visitors in the common area.

Six years later, the Longs proudly tell of Jordan sharing his recovery experience with children who are also recovering from burns. They are thrilled other families will have the ability to be close to their injured family member - without sleeping on a couch.

Large donations for the suit came from donations by the SDI Foundation, the Lions Eye and Tissue Bank of Indianapolis, and St. Joseph Hospital, as well as support from more than 30 Indiana Lions International Clubs and several Leo clubs.

The St. Joseph Hospital Burn Center serves patients from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. The Northeast Indiana Burn Council is a nonprofit organization that helps children, adults and families affected by a burn incident in northern Indiana, northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.