
In partnership with Banner Health Foundation and Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, the very first cancer patients have moved into a new community built and donated by Taylor Morrison—No. 7 on the 2024 Builder 100. Within walking distance of the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Arizona, the homes will help to eliminate the financial burden of travel and hotel stays for approximately 80 patients and their families each year so they can focus on recovery.
"As a home builder, 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," 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 design of the homes is inspired by Taylor Morrison's build-to-rent brand, Yardly. The1,000-square-foot fully furnished homes are complete with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, laundry, a gathering room, and private backyards. Additional space is available within the community for future development, depending on patient demand in the coming years, Taylor Morrison says.
Because few patients 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, affording a place to stay during treatment can mean the difference between receiving care or not. This sparked the creation of Banner MD Anderson's Home Away from Home program that 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.

"Despite advancements in cancer technology, true healing occurs at home," says 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 supports 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. Two of the first patients who moved in are receiving treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Through 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.