After seven months of renovations, City of Hope’s onsite housing for patients, family members and caregivers just got a whole lot better.

“We’ve been able to accomplish a much-needed renovation of the Hope Village office,” said Ryu Kanemoto, R.N., M.N., director of nursing systems and Hope Village operations. “Our intent was to improve our patients and their family’s experience here at City of Hope, and the results are terrific.”

Hope Village now features modernized facilities. (Photo by p.cunningham)

The improvements will be unveiled at an opening celebration on Jan. 26. Tours are scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m., with Alexandra Levine, M.D., M.A.C.P., chief medical officer, and Elizabeth Dunne, executive officer of the medical center, scheduled to give remarks at 2 p.m. during a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The office provides shared facilities for those staying at Hope Village. Renovation raised the number of bathrooms from two to five, and three of them now have showers.

“People now have room for suitcases so they can dress and change inside the bathrooms,” said David Turk, senior program manager.

In addition, planners added an activity room, upgraded the computer room to include wireless access, installed a big-screen television in a new lounge area, remodeled and updated the registration and kitchen areas, improved seating and achieved compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act in a “more elegant” way than before, Kanemoto said.

“We essentially tore the whole thing apart,” said Turk, who noted that the only service that remained intact during renovations was the laundry room.

Kanemoto credited the staff’s teamwork. “A lot of people helped with this, with special mention going to Taz Crane and Dave Turk with the project administration office,” she said. “Also, Jim Bolen with research operations made it possible to have a very convenient interim location right next door at the Rosenkranz building, and Mark Whritenour, a dedicated Village manager, came on board just in time to manage things while we were in remodeling mode.”

She is confident that City of Hope has achieved its goal of creating a better guest experience at Hope Village. Noted Kanemoto: “Everything is a whole lot more pleasant and functional.”

The work was funded in part by a $150,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation, which also has generously sponsored previous improvements to Hope Village.