Banner MD Anderson’s accommodations raise the bar in “cancer lodging.”
The 16 cottage-style homes being built just south of the U.S. 60 near Higley Road have two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, laundry room, private backyard – and a long waiting list of residents. But it’s not a list anyone is scrambling to get on.
“Our priority list will include patients undergoing a stem-cell transplant, radiation treatments – any patients that, because of their treatment, need to be within 30 minutes of the cancer center,” says Michael Herring, CEO of Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, which is building the homes on a 10-acre plot just west of the hospital as free temporary lodging for cancer patients needing the most post-operative monitoring or daily treatments over long periods. The first phase of eight homes is expected to be ready by May. Length of stay will be tied to length of care, with the 16 homes expected to temporarily house 160 patients each year – or just over a month for each patient on average.
“I don’t have a list yet of the people going into the first eight homes,” Herring says. “But we have a constant need.”
The new neighborhood, built with donated labor and materials from partners Taylor Morrison and McCarthy Building along with funding provided through Banner’s charitable patient assistance fund, is the latest and most ambitious example of modern “cancer lodging” being tested throughout the Valley (see sidebar).
The PR for each of these arrangements touts the humanitarian virtues of providing free or affordable “comforts of home” to patients needing to travel for long-term cancer care (in this case, the required travel distance is a 30-minute drive; other lodging arrangements typically specify a minimum number of miles). “It tugs at my heartstrings to be able to work on something like this,” says Brad Schoenberg, division president at Taylor Morrison, which is basing the 1,000-square-foot floor plans on its new build-to-rent brand, Yardly.
But lodging arrangements also provide a strong competitive advantage in the $305 billion global cancer care market, where Mayo Clinic, Banner Health, HonorHealth, St. Joseph’s and more tussle for medical tourists seeking the best care.
“That’s never been a key driver for us,” Herring insists. “But yes, there are other lodging options in town, but really nothing like this. These are going to be beautiful homes just about a hundred yards away from the cancer center.”
For its part, Taylor Morrison is determined not to make this cancer cove the saddest subdivision in Arizona.
“The units all have landscaping around them, there’s going to be a park between the two phases where residents can get outside, relax and just be one with nature a little bit,” Schoenberg says. “We want it to feel more like a vacation rental stay.”
But it’s really “the friendships and the support” offered in such a community that boosts patients’ spirits, Herring says. “Because your neighbors are going through what you’re going through, they can provide a level of empathy other people can’t.”
Other Care Villages
Editha House
Since 2011, Editha House (named for Editha Kapoor, late wife of controversial pharmaceutical entrepreneur John Kapoor, who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2005) has provided affordable lodging for adult cancer patients and their caregivers in a 16-guestroom, four-story apartment building about a seven-minute drive from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. edithahouse.org
Help In Healing Home
This Mayo Clinic haven offers 42 private casita rooms to patients and caregivers for $51 a night. Part of the complex previously functioned as a Hope Lodge, the American Cancer Society’s network of lodging facilities, until the pandemic ceased operations. It’s since been expanded through the clinic’s foundation. helpinhealinghome.org
Envita Medical Centers
This Scottsdale medical center treats patients with late-stage cancers and Lyme disease and recently partnered with a local realtor to offer free or affordable stays in a network of furnished homes within a 10-minute drive of its center. envita.com
The Joy Bus
The Joy Bus prepares healthy meals tailored to patient needs, delivered by volunteers who are often cancer survivors themselves. thejoybusdiner.com
