Welcome to University of Iowa Health Care Today. More than 16,000 Iowans were diagnosed with cancer last year. Facing cancer is hard. Having to travel out of town for treatment can make it even harder. An American Cancer Society Hope Lodge is a place where cancer patients and their families can find help and hope when home is far away. Recently, the latest Hope Lodge opened its doors here in Iowa City. Dr. George Weiner joins me now by phone to tell us about what the new Russell and Ann Gerdin Hope Lodge offers to cancer patients. Dr. Weiner is a professor, oncologist, and director of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center located at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Weiner,
Why did the American Cancer Society (ACS) decide to build a Hope Lodge in Iowa City?
The ACS looks to build their Hope Lodges near major medical centers that offer interdisciplinary, state-of-the-art cancer care; and they identify these by identifying those centers that have been designated as comprehensive cancer centers by the National Cancer Institute, and we are the only such center in the state of Iowa.
You say it’s the only one in the state of Iowa, what’s the closest one for people here in the eastern part of the state?
The other Hope Lodge that’s been open for a number of years is up in Rochester, Minnesota. There’s also one that was opened up in the Marshfield Clinic area.
When did the groundbreaking for the American Cancer Hope Lodge in Iowa City occur?
Ground was broken in July of 2007, so we’re very pleased that we’re able to open it up now—just a little more than a year later.
What was the cost to build this Hope Lodge?
The entire campaign for the Hope Lodge was $8 million. Some of that was for the cost of construction, but some of that is also for an endowment that will allow the Hope Lodge to continue to operate, that way cancer patients who need to stay there can do so free of charge.
What does the facility resemble and how will it work?
The Hope Lodge is designed to look more like a home than an institution. So it has a number of common rooms; it has rooms for the individual patients, who are actually referred to as guests; and, in fact, the goal is to encourage people to mingle and get together. So the individual rooms don’t have televisions, but there are many common areas—including the kitchen—for people to gather and to share their experiences. It’s set up so that patients need to be referred by their physicians, and it’s for folks who are getting cancer care that are able to care for themselves.
Who is eligible to stay in a Hope Lodge?
It is intended for people that live 40 miles or more away from the medical center where they’re getting their care. Also, it’s only for adults, so people over the age of 18. And folks are expected to have a care giver to be with them to help them with their day to day needs.
How many guest rooms will be available for patients and caregivers in the Hope Lodge?
There are a total of 29 rooms, one of which is going to be used as a day room, so there’s space for 28 guests and their care givers.
When will the Iowa City American Cancer Society Hope Lodge be open for patients and caregivers?
We’re going to be opening it sort of step by step, because obviously it would be hard to have 29 people coming in the first day. But the first patients/guests at the Hope Lodge are expected to be moving in on October 1st.
Simply put, how will this establishment enhance patient care at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center?
It’s going to help out in a number of ways. First of all, many of our patients do live fairly far away, and they come here because we offer types of care or types of treatment that can’t be offered elsewhere. Some folks now have to choose between driving a couple hundred miles each day to get their care, or getting a hotel room they can’t afford, or just giving up and not getting the state-of-the-art care. Having the Hope Lodge will take where people stay out of that mix when they make the decision of what treatment to get. Another big advantage of the Hope Lodge is that they will develop camaraderie and get to know other people going through the same experience. And in Hope Lodges around the country, this has been hugely important. It really helps people deal with the emotional aspects of dealing with getting cancer therapy, and many of them develop life-long friendships based on people they’ve met at the Hope Lodge.
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