Healing Close to Home: The Bone Marrow Transplant Patient Housing Fund

When Jerry Pish began his bone marrow transplant journey at Loyola Medicine, he immediately felt safe with hematologist oncologist Patrick Hagen, MD, and knew he would be a great partner during an extremely challenging time. The intense treatment regimen involved daily visits and long hours at the hospital, and living more than an hour away made the commute nearly impossible, especially while managing the exhaustion and side effects of care. Thanks to the support of the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Patient Housing Fund, Jerry instead stayed at a nearby hotel throughout his treatment. The BMT team identifies local hotels committed to exceptional standards of cleanliness, allowing patients to focus on healing rather than worrying about travel or being exposed to infectious agents such as germs, mold, and dust.

However, the close proximity to the hospital turned out to be more than simply convenient, it proved essential. When Jerry experienced a frightening reaction to one of his treatments, he was just minutes away from Loyola Medicine and his trusted care team. “Had I been at home, it could have gone very differently,” he shared. “Being close to the hospital gave me peace of mind and quite possibly saved me from something worse.”

Throughout his treatment, Jerry developed a strong bond with the Bone Marrow Transplant team, who collaborated seamlessly with his hometown healthcare teams to tailor every step of his care. “They truly work as one healing force,” he said. “I am blessed to have a whole team invested in my recovery.” Today, Jerry and his family continue to take the right steps toward healing and are deeply grateful, not only for the exceptional clinical care he received, but also for the generous donors whose support allowed him to stay close to Loyola Medicine when it mattered most.

Loyola Medicine’s Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program is one of the largest and most established in Illinois. Since our first transplant in 1986, our physicians have performed more than three thousand transplants.

Loyola Medicine has been recognized as a National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP)/Be The Match transplant and collection center since December 1996. Our interdisciplinary team of doctors is dedicated to research and improvement of the transplant process. The program offers a comprehensive range of treatments, such as autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants and the recent addition of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies, as well as a variety of clinical trials.