Taylor Morrison and Banner MD Anderson Welcome Home First Residents to Community Built for Cancer Center Patients

The community will house 80 patients each year as they receive treatment for cancer

GILBERT, Ariz., June 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Taylor Morrison, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Banner Health Foundation began moving the very first patients into a new community of homes that will house patients and their care partners while they undergo treatment at Banner MD Anderson in Gilbert, Ariz. Built and donated by Taylor Morrison, the homes are within walking distance of the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, eliminating the financial burden of travel and hotel stays for approximately 80 patients and their families each year so they can focus on recovery in a comfortable environment.

"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 simply heal," said 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."

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.

The design of the homes draws upon Taylor Morrison's build-to-rent brand Yardly, featuring 1,000-square-foot fully furnished homes, complete with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, laundry, gathering room and private backyards. Additional space is available within the community for future development, depending on patient demand in the coming years.

"Despite advancements in cancer technology, true healing occurs at home," said Dr. Matthew Callister, senior physician executive for Banner MD Anderson Cancer Centers. "These homes provide comfort, safety and hope for vulnerable patients on their cancer journey, serving as a sanctuary away from their home communities."

The Home Away from Home program began to support cancer patients whose treatment protocol spans 30 or more days and who lack local housing. This patient population includes those undergoing a stem-cell transplant who need to be within 30 minutes of the facility to qualify for their transplant and for post-operative monitoring, and blood cancer patients who receive daily treatment for weeks or months. The program now assists qualifying patients with all types of cancer, where proximity to their care team is vitally important. Without this assistance, a patient can spend, on average, $5,500 in hotel stays—even with discounted rates offered by hotel partners.

Today's grand opening allowed local dignitaries, donors and stakeholders to tour the homes and hear from two of the first patients who moved in as they continue their treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. With Taylor Morrison's relationship with The Home Edit and Clea Shearer's personal and public cancer journey, it was a natural fit to have the celebrity organizers involved in making these houses feel like homes. Founders Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin surprised the patients by moving them into their new homes while organizing their belongings.

For a press kit, including photos and video from the event, click here.  

About Taylor Morrison
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Taylor Morrison is one of the nation's leading homebuilders and developers. We serve a wide array of consumers from coast to coast, including first-time, move-up, luxury and resort lifestyle homebuyers and renters under our family of brands—including Taylor Morrison, Esplanade, Darling Homes Collection by Taylor Morrison and Yardly. From 2016-2024, Taylor Morrison has been recognized as America's Most Trusted^® Builder by Lifestory Research. Our strong commitment to sustainability, our communities and our team is highlighted in our latest annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report. For more information about Taylor Morrison, please visit www.taylormorrison.com.

About Banner Health Foundation
Established in 2001, the Banner Health Foundation engages the community and stewards charitable gifts to advance Banner Health's nonprofit mission of making health care easier so life can be better. Contributions are invested locally to support patient care programs and services operated by Banner's many hospitals and health care facilities in Arizona and Wyoming. For more information, please visit www.bannerhealthfoundation.org.

About Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center
Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center delivers cancer care to patients through the partnership of Banner Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Banner MD Anderson offers focused disease-specific expertise in the medical, radiation and surgical management of the cancer patient; an evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach to patient care; access to clinical trials and new investigative therapies; state-of-the-art technology for the diagnosis, staging and treatment of all types of cancer; oncology expertise in supportive care services. For more information, visit www.BannerMDAnderson.com.

About The Home Edit
The Home Edit was founded in 2015 by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin with the goal of reinventing traditional organizing and merging it with design. Since then, it has grown into a global media and organization company with a social following of over 9 million people and organizing teams in 7 cities across the country. The Home Edit has become a household name with three New York Times' bestselling books, an Emmy-nominated Netflix show, "Get Organized with the Home Edit," and a successful line of organizational products sold in stores in over 31 countries. In 2022, Hello Sunshine, a division of Candle Media, acquired The Home Edit.

CONTACT:
Tara Shultz
(480) 466-3339
[email protected]

SOURCE Taylor Morrison