Hanson House is a “home away from home” for the loved ones of critically ill and injured hospitalized patients. We also serve the needs of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatment, parents of newborn babies critically ill in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), military families from the Marine base at Twenty Nine Palms and all families of First Responders. Our services are provided at low or no cost. No one is turned away because of an inability to pay.
Frank R. Ercoli, M.D., FACS, Medical Director of Trauma and Critical Care Services at Desert Regional Medical Center conceived and developed the idea to create a place that provided comfort and care to the families of those patients being cared for in the intensive care units of local hospitals. Dr. Ercoli met project benefactor Lord James Hanson, a British industrialist and part-time resident of Palm Springs. Lord Hanson made a very generous seed donation to start the fund for the facility that is now named for him. Hanson House Phase 1 with 8 private casitas, indoor and outdoor dining areas, meditation/chapel room, physician-family conference room, kitchen and laundry room opened its doors on Christmas Eve 2003.
The John R. and M. Margrite Davis Foundation made a generous contribution to the Hanson House in September 2003 which allowed for the building and completion of 8 additional private rooms.
The Hanson House is a Spanish mission style architecture with meditative grounds and a welcoming atmosphere which you feel as soon as you enter the front gate of the facility.
Hanson House is staffed entirely by volunteers under the direction of an Executive Director. Our volunteers work a four hour shift at the front desk. They greet guests, help with familiarization of our facility and provide a hug if you are willing. Our facility is available to our guests 365 days per year and 24 hours per day. No one makes a reservation to stay at the Hanson House. All of our guests stay with us due to very difficult medical circumstances affecting a loved one. Every guest at the Hanson House has a private casita, access to our open pantry and dining area, WIFI service, laundry facilities and, most importantly, compassion and care from our volunteer staff. Whether you need directions to the closest grocery store or someone to hold your hand in our chapel and pray with you for your loved one’s recovery, our volunteers are prepared to help however they can.
Hanson House guests stay with us as long as their patient remains in critical condition. Some stays are as short as a few days and some stays are as long as several months. The family atmosphere at the Hanson House is the major contributor to our guests comfort. Guests support and console each other daily in the common dining area. Our Executive Director meets every family, assists with any special needs, helps families navigate the medical facility and local geographic area and gives an unending amount of emotional support.
The Hanson House is a 501©3 not for profit public corporation. The Board of Directors work tirelessly to ensure that the Hanson House remains viable to the community. The Hanson House is dependent upon donations, grants and fundraisers to continue our mission of low or no cost housing.
Donations – https://www.hansonhouse.org/donations.html
Good things happen when our supporters contribute to making Hanson House a quality program. Why not make a personalized, tax-deductible contribution to show your support of Hanson House, however big or small, as we touch the lives of families and loved ones of those who are critically ill or injured in our hospital. All contributions will be recognized with the donor’s name and/or dedication.
