A Housing Problem Turned Purpose: How Reliable Residence Is Expanding to Marshfield
MARSHFIELD, WI (OnFocus) – For many visiting healthcare workers, housing is treated as a logistical detail rather than a foundational need. But for anesthesia resident Christina Henderson, founder of Reliable Residence, one difficult housing experience during medical training revealed a much larger, systemic issue.
While completing a rotation at Duke University, she encountered a living situation that went far beyond inconvenience.
“During my rotation at Duke, I ended up in a housing situation that was unsafe, poorly maintained, and completely misrepresented. I remember coming home exhausted after long hospital days and realizing that housing wasn’t just an inconvenience, it was actively affecting my ability to function as a medical student,” she said. “What shocked me most was how common this was among rotating students and travel clinicians. Everyone just accepted it as ‘part of the job,’ and that moment made it clear to me that this wasn’t just personal to me, it was a systemic problem that needed a real solution.”
That realization stayed with her as she continued her medical training. As an anesthesia resident, the demands of the job further shaped her thinking around what housing for healthcare professionals should provide.
“Being an anesthesia resident makes you very aware of how much mental and physical energy the job takes,” she explained. “When you’re covering long shifts or on call, you need housing that just works and you shouldn’t have to think about it. That’s really how I approached Reliable Residence. I wasn’t trying to build a flashy housing platform; I was trying to remove friction from people’s lives so they could focus on their patients.”
Reliable Residence began in Madison with furnished, monthly housing designed specifically for clinicians. Early on, the biggest challenge was establishing trust on both sides of the market.
“Healthcare workers had been burned before, so they were skeptical. Property owners were skeptical too because furnishing units is a real investment, and they wanted to know if there was actually demand,” she said. “I ended up doing a lot manually at first: walking units, answering questions late at night, explaining the model over and over. It was slow, but it helped build something people could actually rely on.”
That hands-on approach laid the groundwork for steady growth. Today, Reliable Residence manages more than 125 units across Wisconsin, expanding not through aggressive scaling but through reputation.
“We didn’t grow by trying to grow fast, we grew by solving problems well. Once clinicians started having good experiences, they told their friends. Once property owners had good tenants, they wanted to list more units. What that taught me is that in healthcare, word of mouth really matters. If you do right by people, growth follows.”
The company’s latest expansion brings its model to Marshfield, where visiting healthcare workers play a critical role but often struggle to find suitable housing.
“In a lot of Wisconsin cities, Marshfield included, visiting healthcare workers are essential, but housing hasn’t been built with them in mind,” explained Henderson. “There are options, but they’re often short-term Airbnbs that don’t work for longer stays, or places that just aren’t set up for someone working in healthcare. So people settle and that has real consequences when you’re asking them to show up every day for patients.”
Marshfield surfaced repeatedly in conversations with clinicians before the expansion decision was made.
“Marshfield kept coming up in conversations. We heard from clinicians rotating there who were stressed about housing before they even arrived. At the same time, the healthcare system there relies heavily on visiting professionals. It felt like a place where the need was clear and where the impact would be immediate.”
Each unit added to the platform is evaluated through a simple but strict lens.
“I ask myself a simple question: Would I feel okay sending a friend or colleague here after a long shift? If the answer isn’t a clear yes, it’s not a fit. Cleanliness, quiet, safety, reliable internet, and location all matter. It’s less about luxury and more about livability.”
Feedback from clinicians and hospitals has reinforced the importance of that standard.
“The feedback that sticks with me most is when clinicians say, ‘This made my assignment so much less stressful.’ Hospitals have told us that housing used to be a bottleneck and now it’s not. Hearing that something you built actually made someone’s life easier is incredibly motivating,” she said.
Looking ahead, Henderson said the focus remains on depth rather than speed.
“I see it becoming a trusted resource that hospitals and healthcare workers think of first, not last. The goal isn’t to be everywhere overnight, it’s to build something dependable in each place we serve. If we can do that while staying true to our standards, I’ll feel good about the direction we’re headed.”
For the Marshfield community, she hopes the expansion highlights how closely housing and healthcare are connected.
“Visiting healthcare workers are part of the community while they’re there, even if it’s temporary. When they’re supported including with something as basic as housing and they’re able to show up fully for patients. Supporting them ultimately means supporting better care for everyone.”
As Reliable Residence enters Marshfield, it brings with it a model shaped by lived experience and a clear goal: make housing one less burden for the people caring for Wisconsin’s communities.
If you have a property you’d like considered for Reliable Residence, please reach out to them via email.
Author: News Desk
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