“Despite advancements in cancer technology, true healing occurs at home,” says Matthew Callister, M.D., senior physician executive for Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. “These homes provide comfort, safety and hope for vulnerable patients on their cancer journey, serving as a sanctuary away from their home communities. We are grateful to Taylor Morrison, its construction and design teams and community partners for making this patient housing community possible.”
“These houses” that he refers to are a community of homes, which opened this past June, that will house patients and their loved ones while they undergo treatment at Banner MD Anderson in Gilbert, Ariz. Donated and built by Taylor Morrison, the homes are within walking distance of the cancer center, eliminating the financial burden of travel and hotel stays for approximately 80 patients and their care partners each year so they can focus on recovery in a comfortable environment.
While many patients can afford a short hotel stay, few are prepared to pay for long-term lodging, especially those whose treatment protocol requires weeks to months of daily therapy or close post-surgical monitoring. For many, affording a place to stay during treatment can mean the difference between receiving care or not. That spurred the creation of Banner MD Anderson’s Home Away from Home program, which covers the cost of local stays at partner hotels for qualifying patients.
Patients who have the longest length of stay will be prioritized to stay in the new homes, while others will receive lodging support through the ongoing hotel program.
“As a homebuilder, there’s no greater gift we could give than to build a community of homes that will eliminate undue stressors like hotel costs alongside rent or mortgage payments, and allow patients to focus on their treatment,” says Taylor Morrison Chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer. “It was deeply important to us that what we were building was a true community — a place for patients to share experiences and support one another. It will be something quite unique and, we hope, incredibly healing.”
The community has opened with eight 1,000-square-foot, fully furnished homes with private backyards. Additional space is available within the community for future development, depending on patient demand in the coming years.
Photo courtesy of Banner MD Anderson
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