Banner Children's receives $5 million from Cox Foundation to expand child cancer care

Children's cancer care is expanding at Mesa's Banner Children's hospital with a $5 million donation to build a blood and cancer center from the James M. Cox Foundation.

The Banner Children’s at Desert Medical Center oncology program saw more than 4,500 patient clinic visits and outpatient consults in 2021, according to Banner Health. It was a 27% increase over the previous year. The population growth in the east Valley has in part been the cause of that rise, said Laura Snow, Associate Vice President of Women, Infants, and Pediatrics Services at Banner Health.

Snow said the donation will cover the full cost to renovate an existing part of the hospital to house the new center. It will include five exam rooms, four private infusion rooms, two infusion bays and a support services space for patients and families.

The center will help streamline pediatric cancer care and help consolidate existing inpatient and outpatient treatment centers to one location. Snow said the new center will accommodate the growing number of patient visits.

Teen cancer survivor praises donation

Kannon Riecks and his father Ryan shared their treatment experiences at Wednesday's event. Kannon was a high school freshman when he received his diagnosis and is now four years in remission.

Ryan, Kannon's father, remembers driving from Maricopa and packing like he was going on vacation for their days-long stays at the hospital. Ryan felt that moving across campus to get Kannon's treatment was an unnecessary obstacle.

"Being in the hardest fight of your child's life, the last thing you want to do is have hoops to jump through" he said. He thanked Banner Children's for saving his son and the Cox Foundation for changing the world.

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Kannon told The Arizona Republic moving from one area to the next without medical supervision would put him in a negative mindset. He looks forward to see how families and kids have a smoother treatment experience with the new facility.

Kannon, now 20 years-old, is working towards becoming a commercial pilot and with that conquering his fear of heights. "I've already beaten cancer's butt, why not try and breakdown one of my other walls," he said.

At the end of Kannon and Ryan's remarks at Wednesday's event, they initiated a group hug with their medical team as a show of gratitude.

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Donations to Banner help its growth and patient care

The east Valley is home to numerous Banner facilities including Banner Desert in west Mesa, Banner Baywood in east Mesa and Banner Gateway in Gilbert.

Last year, Banner Desert received a $250,000 grant to help remodel the pediatric Emergency Department to create a space that is separate and feels safer for kids than the general adult Emergency Department.

The Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation gave $10,000 for the Celebration of Champions Fund to support birthday and milestone celebrations for hospitalized kids at Banner Children’s at Desert. The State Farm Insurance’s Arizona Operations Center gave another $10,000 to support Safety Town, an injury prevention community education program.

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Over the past 12 months, Banner Desert received $5,970,041 and Banner Baywood received $40,009, Banner Health staff shared with The Republic.

Last December, residential developer Taylor Morrison announced it was donating 16 two-bedroom homes to Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert. Construction on six homes is set to begin this summer and be completed by 2024.

The donation was part of Banner Health's Home Away from Home program that provides housing assistance to patients who travel large distances for care.

Reporter Maritza Dominguez covers Mesa/Gilbert and can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on Twitter @maritzacdom.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Banner Children's expands cancer care with $5 million donation