County cancer patients to benefit from new partnership
PRESQUE ISLE — Cancer patients who travel to receive treatment at Aroostook Cancer Care can now take advantage of special offers from area hotels as they courageously battle the disease.
Through a partnership between TAMC and several Presque Isle area lodging establishments, patients of Aroostook Cancer Care from all over the region who travel to Presque Isle — in some cases on a daily basis to receive radiation treatments or chemotherapy, or both — will be eligible for special deals on overnight stays. The need for such a program was identified by cancer care staff and developed as an extension of the new TAMC cancer patient support fund initiative.
“The best medical care is useless if a patient cannot access it. Traveling in our vast county — coupled with less than ideal weather — can physically exhaust patients, limiting their access to consistent and timely care. This leads to poor outcomes,” said Dr. Arjun Sood, Aroostook Cancer Care physician. “By providing a discounted housing option, we can hopefully help our patients circumvent this challenge and achieve better cancer outcomes.”
Five Presque Isle area hotels — the Aroostook Hospitality Inn, Presque Isle Inn and Convention Center, Budget Traveler Motor Lodge, Northeastland Hotel and Hampton Inn — have all signed on with TAMC to offer discounted rates to patients of Aroostook Cancer Care. The special deals range from $30 to $99 a night.
The room deals are open to all patients of Aroostook Cancer Care undergoing treatment at the Presque Isle hospital, pending availability at each facility. A special card, featuring all of the participating hotel properties, contact information and the rates offered by each, is available in the waiting area of TAMC’s Aroostook Cancer Care for patient convenience.
Under the reduced hotel room rate partnership, patients have the brochure signed by staff at TAMC’s Aroostook Cancer Care. The patients will be encouraged to call the lodging facility to ensure availability and make a reservation. Upon arrival at the hotel, the guest will present the signed rate program card to receive the special rate.
“TAMC is pleased to partner with local hotels to benefit cancer patients who drive long distances, cope with inclement weather, and require multiple treatments of radiation, chemotherapy, or both. Our employees listened to the voices of their patients, families and caregivers. With their concerns in mind, we reached out to local lodging establishments for help; and, all of them responded with a reduced cancer patient rate,” said Virginia Joles, TAMC philanthropy lead. “These new partnerships are a true testament to the generosity of our community, for which we are most grateful.”
In addition to the room discount program available to all Aroostook Cancer Care patients, those who apply for and are approved to receive assistance through the recently created cancer care patient fund will be eligible to have their room cost covered at the Aroostook Hospitality Inn, located on the Washburn Road just 5 miles from downtown Presque Isle. The Inn, with locations in Washburn and Van Buren, has offered $30 a night room stays at their Washburn facility, which the TAMC Cancer Patient Assistance Fund will cover for those who are eligible.
“No one in northern Maine is untouched by cancer in some way. Each of us has a relative, friend or neighbor who has lost someone to cancer, or is dealing with cancer right now. While they are dealing with the disease, it can be extremely stressful on the patient and his or her family,” said Steve Dobson, owner of the Aroostook Hospitality Inn. “Patients who travel from the St. John Valley and southern Aroostook will not have to drive long distances home after their treatment and return the next morning just because they cannot afford a place to stay, especially if their physical condition is weakened or weather makes it difficult to drive home.”
Dobson’s generosity has extended beyond his partnership of cancer patient support. He has also agreed to extend the $30 a room per night rate to patients receiving kidney dialysis treatment, in addition to a family member, driver or caregiver who accompanies them for treatment.
