Lodging assistance for patients of Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center
Home away from Home CANCER PATIENT HOUSING ASSISTANCE
When Arizona’s leading health care provider, Banner Health, joined forces with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2011, the landscape changed for cancer patients and their families throughout Arizona and the Southwest. With its main campus in Gilbert and extension sites in downtown Phoenix and the northwest Valley, Banner MD Anderson gives patients access to the same cuttingedge technology, multidisciplinary approach, and leading cancer care available at MD Anderson in Houston, the nation’s top-ranked cancer center.
More than 350 new patients travel from out of state each year and thousands of Arizona patients travel more than 30 miles each way to access Banner MD Anderson’s expert care, deep clinical knowledge, and clinical trials not available in their local communities. 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.
In 2019, a group of committed community leaders came together to raise funds to support the housing needs of Banner MD Anderson patients whose treatment protocol spans 30 or more days and where proximity to their care team is vitally important. They launched the Home Away from Home campaign, a fundraising effort to support hotel stays for qualifying patients and their care partners.
Home: more than a place to lay your head
Since 2019, generous donors and community partners have built a $2.4 million permanent endowment that is professionally managed for growth while producing funds annually to support the program. Patient navigators and social workers help patients complete an application to qualify for financial assistance with lodging. Banner MD Anderson has negotiated discounted rates with local hotel partners to maximize the impact of this support.
$5,500
Average out-of-pocket cost for a 6-week hotel stay
36
Average nights for a stem-cell transplant patient to stay near the Cancer Center after surgery
200
Number of patients who have been served by the Home Away from Home program since 2019
WHAT IS AN ENDOWMENT?
Endowments are permanent funds that keep the principal corpus intact to grow over time, generating interest earnings annually to support programs and operations. The Home Away from Home endowment will provide enduring support to sustain the program in perpetuity.
Home away from Home PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE
Committee forms and begins fundraising for the endowment
Patient navigators and social workers help patients complete the application for financial assistance while negotiating discounted rates with local hotel partners.
Generous grants from Thunderbirds Charities and the American Cancer Society allow the program to launch early, providing immediate support to patients as the endowment builds.
Taylor Morrison Homes announces the company will build and donate eight fully furnished homes to augment the Home Away from Home program.
The Banner Health Foundation Board of Directors allocates funding to prepare the home site for development.
The Home Away from Home community opens with a celebration, welcoming the first patients and their care partners into their homes away from home.
Taylor Morrison builds and donates a wellness center, a process that is filmed by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, scheduled to air during the 2025 season.
Home Away from Home achieves a milestone of providing 5,400 hotel nights valued at $465,000 for more than 200 qualifying patients and their care partners since inception.
The hotel program expands to three additional Banner MD Anderson locations in Phoenix, the northwest Valley, and Glendale.
Hundreds of patients and their care partners will benefit each year from comfortable, safe, nearby housing while they undergo treatment, recover from surgery, or participate in clinical trials.
A New Partnership
In 2024, Scottsdale-based homebuilder Taylor Morrison generously expanded the Home Away from Home program by building and donating eight private homes— each with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a full kitchen and family room, and a private backyard—to house patients with the longest length of stay, free of charge. The community opened and welcomed its first patients and their care partners in June 2024, representing significant donations from Taylor Morrison and its many subcontractors of time, building materials, professional services, labor and more.
Located within walking distance of Banner MD Anderson on the Banner Gateway Medical Center campus in Gilbert, the community now also includes a beautifully designed and fully furnished wellness center built by Taylor Morrison—a place for patients and care partners residing in the community to come together to prepare and share meals, play games, read, and find friendship with those on the same journey through cancer.
“Despite advancements in cancer technology, true healing occurs at home. 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.
“
Dr. Matthew Callister, Senior Physician Executive, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center
What our patients have to say
Two Banner MD Anderson patients who were among the first to reside in the Home Away from Home patient housing community shared their gratitude about how the program has positively impacted their cancer journey:
“Thank you for thinking about patients’ treatment, care, and mental and emotional health. It alleviates so much - just having a tranquil, peaceful place where the patient feels like they are at home. At the same time, it helps to recover in a calm and safe environment near the hospital in case of emergency and where I can go to the Cancer Center without worries about time, spending on gas, and being on time for the appointment. I want to thank everybody who collaborates in this wonderful and crucial project for us to make our lives better and support faster healing.”
“My husband is 71 years old and has his own medical issues. He does all of the driving when I’ve had recent surgery. The long ride to Banner and back home isn’t possible on the same day for us. This program has been an incredible miracle in our lives. We cannot begin to properly express our gratitude for the assistance we’ve received. It was an absolute certainty that we would have to be paying on a credit card for years to get through this surgery. A hotel would have been a huge expense that we feared would be impossible to afford. We are eternally thankful for this opportunity to receive assistance for our lodging. My surgeries were life-changing experiences but this kindness has alleviated additional years of financial pain.”
The Home Away from Home program continues to have a vital impact on Banner MD Anderson patients. In a recent survey:
90%
of patients said that treatment would not have been possible for them without housing support.
100%
of patients said having housing near the Cancer Center made it easier to navigate their care.
100%
of patients said that having housing improved their emotional and financial quality of life.
Home Away from Home Campaign Committee
John Strittmatter, Chairman
Christine Bayer
Marcus Bolland
Dennis Desmond
Kathy Desmond
John Graham Jim Mahoney
Don Miner
Jeff Pitcher
Brian Smuckler
Mo Stein
Learn more about the Home Away from Home program at: give.bannerhealth.com/patienthousing